Half Blood Prince
by alenapo
Summary: This version of HBP will have lots of ideas from other fanfics i read, so i just hope i can make a good story out of it. Harry will gain more power through training, will also have a little bit more fights with Hermione but will have great moments with her, in the sequel of this they will finally be together.Follows canon. Full summary inside. Rated M just to be sure!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters or the fantasy world created in this story, I just used the fantastic mind of JKR to make my own version of it.

**Summary: **In this story Harry gains more magical ability than the original book because he trains by his own and also because he receives training. Also in this story I will add a lot of ideas from other fanfics I have read in the past, I will tell you when I do this, but I´m not sure if I can tell you the name of the story or the author because I may not found them again (since I didn't wrote down the names). Harry will become an animagus, he will have a summer love, will have worse fights with Hermione than in the original story but will also have very intimate moments with her. I plan to make a sequel of this story and in that story they will finally be together.

This is a long chapter that also has a lot of original lines from the HBP book, but I guess I had to do it on the first chapter because it helps to explain some things that may occur later on.

**Chapter 1: Decisions **

In one of the bedrooms of number four in Private Drive was a teenage boy sitting in a chair beside his bedroom window for the best part of four hours, staring out at the darkening street, and asleep with one side of his face pressed against the cold win-dowpane, his glasses askew and his mouth wide open, around him there were several newspapers where you could read a lot of news regarding the latest events from the wizarding world, such as "Harry Potter: the chosen one?", "Scrimgeour succeeds Fudge" and a leaflet with the title "Protecting your home and family against the dark forces"; this world was claiming for Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore after a year calling them liars and in Harry's case fame seeker.

The sleepy boy was Harry Potter and he didn't wake up until an alarm clock ticked loudly on the sill showing one minute to eleven. Beside it, held in place by Harry's relaxed hand, was a piece of parchment covered in thin, slanting writing. Harry had read this letter so often since its arrival three days ago that although it had been delivered in a tightly furled scroll, it now lay quite flat.

_Dear Harry,_

_If it is convenient to you, I shall call at number four, Privet Drive this coming Friday at eleven p.m. to escort you to the Burrow, where you have been invited to spend the remainder of your school holidays._

_If you are agreeable, I should also be glad of your assistance in a matter to which I hope to attend on the way to the Burrow. I shall explain this more fully when I see you._

_Kindly send your answer by return of this owl. Hoping to see you this Friday,_

_I am yours most sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Though he already knew it by heart, Harry had been stealing glances at this missive every few minutes since seven o'clock that evening, when he had first taken up his position beside his bedroom window, which had a reasonable view of both ends of Privet Drive. He knew it was pointless to keep rereading Dumbledore's words; Harry had sent back his "yes" with the delivering owl, as requested, and all he could do now was wait: Either Dumbledore was going to come, or he was not.

But Harry had not packed. Because he had changed his mind, he wasn't going to go to the Burrow he wanted to stay at Private Drive and recover all those years that he had wasted, and learn as much as he could from his previous years at Hogwarts, he also wanted to develop his physical strength and mental barriers known as Occlumency.

The minute hand on the alarm clock reached the number twelve and, at that precise moment, the street-lamp outside the window went out.

Harry awoke as though the sudden darkness were an alarm. Hastily straightening his glasses and unsticking his cheek from the glass, he pressed his nose against the window instead and squinted down at the pavement. A tall figure in a long, billowing cloak was walking up the garden path.

Downstairs in the living room his Uncle Vernon shouted, "Who the blazes is calling at this time of night?"

Harry froze he had completely forgotten to warn the Dursleys that Dumbledore might be coming. Feeling both panicky mid close to laughter, he clambered over the trunk and wrenched open his bedroom door in time to hear a deep voice say, "Good evening. You must be Mr. Dursley. I daresay Harry has told you I would be coming for him?"

Harry ran down the stairs two at a time, coming to an abrupt halt several steps from the bottom, as long experience had taught him to remain out of arm's reach of his uncle whenever possible. There in the doorway stood a tall, thin man with waist-length silver hair and beard. Half-moon spectacles were perched on his crooked nose, and he was wearing a long black traveling cloak and one pointed hat. Vernon Dursley, whose mustache was quite as bushy as Dumbledore's, though black, and who was wearing a puce dress-ing gown, was staring at the visitor as though he could not believe his tiny eyes.

"Judging by your look of stunned disbelief, Harry did not warn you that I was coming," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "However, let us assume that you have invited me warmly into your house. It is unwise to linger overlong on doorsteps in these troubled times."

He stepped smartly over the threshold and closed the front door behind him.

"It is a long time since my last visit," said Dumbledore, peering down his crooked nose at Uncle Vernon. "I must say, your agapanthus are flourishing."

Vernon Dursley said nothing at all. Harry did not doubt that speech would return to him, and soon — the vein pulsing in his uncles temple was reaching danger point — but something about Dumbledore seemed to have robbed him temporarily of breath. It might have been the blatant wizardishness of his appearance, but it might, too, have been that even Uncle Vernon could sense that here was a man whom it would be very difficult to bully.

"Ah, good evening Harry," said Dumbledore, looking up at him through his half-moon glasses with a most satisfied expression. "Excellent, excellent."

These words seemed to rouse Uncle Vernon. It was clear that as far as he was concerned, any man who could look at Harry and say "excellent" was a man with whom he could never see eye to eye.

"I don't mean to be rude —" he began, in a tone that threatened rudeness in every syllable.

"-yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often," Dumbledore finished the sentence gravely. "Best to say nothing at all, my dear man. Ah, and this must be Petunia."

The kitchen door had opened, and there stood Harry's aunt, wearing rubber gloves and a housecoat over her nightdress, clearly halfway through her usual pre-bedtime wipe-down of all the kitchen surfaces. Her rather horsey face registered nothing but shock.

"Albus Dumbledore," said Dumbledore, when Uncle Vernon failed to effect an introduction. "We have corresponded, of course." Harry thought this an odd way of reminding Aunt Petunia that he had once sent her an exploding letter, but Aunt Petunia did not challenge the term. "And this must be your son, Dudley?"

Dudley had that moment peered round the living room door, his large, blond head rising out of the stripy collar of his pajamas looked oddly disembodied, his mouth gaping in astonishment and I car. Dumbledore waited a moment or two, apparently to see whether any of the Dursleys were going to say anything, but as they never did he just smiled.

"Shall we assume that you have invited me into your sitting room?"

Dudley scrambled out of the way as Dumbledore passed him. Harry jumped the last few stairs and followed Dumbledore, who had settled himself in the armchair nearest the fire and was taking in the surroundings with an expression of benign interest. He looked quite extraordinarily out of place.

"Sir are you here to take me to the Burrow?" Harry asked a little bit uncomfortable.

"Yes, indeed I am, but there are a few matters we need to discuss first," said Dumbledore. "And I would prefer not to do so that we don't trespass upon your aunt and uncle's hospitality only a little longer."

"You will, will you?"

Vernon Dursley had entered the room, Petunia at his shoulder, and Dudley skulking behind them both.

"Yes," said Dumbledore simply, "I shall."

He drew his wand so rapidly that Harry barely saw it; with a casual flick, the sofa zoomed forward and knocked the knees out from under all three of the Dursleys so that they collapsed upon it in a heap. Another flick of the wand and the sofa zoomed back to its original position.

"We may as well be comfortable," said Dumbledore pleasantly.

As he replaced his wand in his pocket, Harry saw that his hand was blackened and shriveled; it looked as though his flesh had been burned away.

"Sir — what happened to your — ?"

"Later, Harry," said Dumbledore. "Please sit down."

Harry took the remaining armchair, choosing not to look at the Dursleys, who seemed stunned into silence.

"I would assume that you were going to offer me refreshment," Dumbledore said to Uncle Vernon, "but the evidence so far suggests that that would be optimistic to the point of foolishness."

A third twitch of the wand, and a dusty bottle and five glasses appeared in midair. The bottle tipped and poured a generous measure of honey-colored liquid into each of the glasses, which then floated to each person in the room.

"Madam Rosmertas finest oak-matured mead," said Dumbledore, raising his glass to Harry, who caught hold of his own and sipped. He had never tasted anything like it before, but enjoyed it immensely. The Dursleys, after quick, scared looks at one another, tried to ignore their glasses completely, a difficult feat, as they were nudging them gently on the sides of their heads. Harry could not suppress a suspicion that Dumbledore was rather enjoying himself.

"Well, Harry," said Dumbledore, turning toward him, "a difficulty has arisen which I hope you will be able to solve for us. By us, I mean the Order of the Phoenix. But first of all I must tell you that Sirius's will was discovered a week ago and that he left you everything he owned."

Over on the sofa, Uncle Vernon's head turned, but Harry did not look at him, nor could he think of anything to say except, "Oh. Right."

"This is, in the main, fairly straightforward," Dumbledore went on. "You add a reasonable amount of gold to your account at Gringotts, and you inherit all of Sirius's personal possessions. The slightly problematic part of the legacy —"

"His godfather's dead?" said Uncle Vernon loudly from the sofa. Dumbledore and Harry both turned to look at him. The glass of mead was now knocking quite insistently on the side of Vernons head; he attempted to beat it away. "He's dead? His godfather?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore. He did not ask Harry why he had not confided in the Dursleys. "Our problem," he continued to Harry, as if there had been no interruption, "is that Sirius also left you number twelve, Grimmauld Place."

"He's been left a house?" said Uncle Vernon greedily, his small eyes narrowing, but nobody answered him.

"You can keep using it as headquarters," said Harry. "I don't care. You can have it, I don't really want it." Harry never wanted to set foot in number twelve, Grimmauld Place again if he could help it. He thought he would be haunted forever by the memory of Sirius prowling its dark musty rooms alone, imprisoned within the place he had wanted so desperately to leave.

"That is generous," said Dumbledore. "We have, however, vacated the building temporarily."

"Why?"

"Well," said Dumbledore, ignoring the mutterings of Uncle Vernon, who was now being rapped smartly over the head by the persistent glass of mead, "Black family tradition decreed that the house was handed down the direct line, to the next male with the name of 'Black.' Sirius was the very last of the line as his younger brother, Regulus, predeceased him and both were childless. While his will makes it perfectly plain that he wants you to have the house, it is nevertheless possible that some spell or enchantment has been set upon the place to ensure that it cannot be owned by anyone other than a pureblood."

A vivid image of the shrieking, spitting portrait of Sirius's mother that hung in the hall of number twelve, Grimmauld Place flashed into Harry's mind. "I bet there has," he said.

"Quite," said Dumbledore. "And if such an enchantment exists, then the ownership of the house is most likely to pass to the eldest of Sirius's living relatives, which would mean his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange."

Without realizing what he was doing, Harry sprang to his feet; the telescope and trainers in his lap rolled across the floor. Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius's killer, inherit his house?

"No," he said.

"Well, obviously we would prefer that she didn't get it either," said Dumbledore calmly. "The situation is fraught with complications. We do not know whether the enchantments we ourselves have placed upon it, for example, making it Unplottable, will hold now that ownership has passed from Sirius's hands. It might be that Bellatrix will arrive on the doorstep at any moment. Naturally we had to move out until such time as we have clarified the position,"

"But how are you going to find out if I'm allowed to own it?"

"Fortunately," said Dumbledore, "there is a simple test."

He placed his empty glass on a small table beside his chair, but before he could do anything else, Uncle Vernon shouted, "Will you get these ruddy things off us?"

Harry looked around; all three of the Dursleys were cowering with their arms over their heads as their glasses bounced up and down on their skulls, their contents flying everywhere.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Dumbledore politely, and he raised his wand again. All three glasses vanished. "But it would have been better manners to drink it, you know."

It looked as though Uncle Vernon was bursting with any number of unpleasant retorts, but he merely shrank back into the cushions with Aunt Petunia and Dudley and said nothing, keeping his small piggy eyes on Dumbledore's wand.

"You see," Dumbledore said, turning back to Harry and again speaking as though Uncle Vernon had not uttered, "if you have indeed inherited the house, you have also inherited —"

He flicked his wand for a fifth time. There was a loud crack, and a house-elf appeared, with a snout for a nose, giant bat's ears, and enormous bloodshot eyes, crouching on the Dursleys' shag carpet and covered in grimy rags. Aunt Petunia let out a hair-raising shriek; nothing this filthy had entered her house in living memory. Dudley drew his large, bare, pink feet off the floor and sat with them raised almost above his head, as though he thought the creature might run up his pajama trousers, and Uncle Vernon bellowed, "What the hell is that?"

"Kreacher," finished Dumbledore.

"Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't!" croaked the house-elf, quite as loudly as Uncle Vernon, stamping his long, gnarled feet and pulling lii.s ears. "Kreacher belongs to Miss Bellatrix, oh yes, Kreacher belongs to the Blacks, Kreacher wants his new mistress, Kreacher won't go to the Potter brat, Kreacher won't, won't, won't —"

"As you can see, Harry," said Dumbledore loudly, over Kreacher's continued croaks of "wont, won't, won't," "Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership."

"I don't care," said Harry again, looking with disgust at the writhing, stamping house-elf. "I don't want him."

"Won't, won't, won't, won't —"

"You would prefer him to pass into the ownership of Bellatrix Lestrange? Bearing in mind that he has lived at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for the past year?"

"Won't, won't, won't, won't —"

Harry stared at Dumbledore. He knew that Kreacher could not be permitted to go and live with Bellatrix Lestrange, but the idea of owning him, of having responsibility for the creature that had betrayed Sirius, was repugnant.

"Give him an order," said Dumbledore. "If he has passed into your ownership, he will have to obey. If not, then we shall have to think of some other means of keeping him from his rightful mistress."

"Won't, won't, won't, WON'T!"

Kreacher's voice had risen to a scream. Harry could think of nothing to say, except, "Kreacher, shut up!"

It looked for a moment as though Kreacher was going to choke. He grabbed his throat, his mouth still working furiously, his eyes bulging. After a few seconds of frantic gulping, he threw himself face forward onto the carpet (Aunt Petunia whimpered) and beat the floor with his hands and feet, giving himself over to a violent, but entirely silent, tantrum.

"Well, that simplifies matters," said Dumbledore cheerfully. "It means that Sirius knew what he was doing. You are the rightful owner of number twelve, Grimmauld Place and of Kreacher."

"Do I — do I have to keep him with me?" Harry asked, aghast, us Kreacher thrashed around at his feet.

"Not if you don't want to," said Dumbledore. "If I might make ii suggestion, you could send him to Hogwarts to work in the kitchen there. In that way, the other house-elves could keep an eye on him."

"Yeah," said Harry in relief, "yeah, I'll do that. Er — Kreacher — I want you to go to Hogwarts and work in the kitchens there with the other house-elves."

Kreacher, who was now lying flat on his back with his arms and legs in the air, gave Harry one upside-down look of deepest loathing and, with another loud crack, vanished.

"Good," said Dumbledore. "There is also the matter of the hip-pogriff, Buckbeak. Hagrid has been looking after him since Sirius died, but Buckbeak is yours now, so if you would prefer to make different arrangements —"

"No," said Harry at once, "he can stay with Hagrid. I think Buckbeak would prefer that."

"Hagrid will be delighted," said Dumbledore, smiling. "He was thrilled to see Buckbeak again. Incidentally, we have decided, in the interests of Buckbeak's safety, to rechristen him 'Witherwings' for the time being, though I doubt that the Ministry would ever guess he is the hippogriff they once sentenced to death. Now, Harry, is your trunk packed?"

Erm...

"Doubtful that I would turn up?" Dumbledore suggested shrewdly.

"Actually sir I wanted to tell you that I changed my mind and that I want to stay here for the summer" said Harry awkwardly.

"And why is that if I may ask Harry, I thought you would be really pleased that you could go to the Burrow with your friends and enjoy the summer" reply Dumbledore.

"Well sir, after you told me about the prophecy and after mourning over Sirius death for the past days I decided that I lack the ability that I am required and that I have been a bit lazy over the past years and that I don't have the knowledge I should have, so I wanted to restudy all the books of the past 5 years at Hogwarts, I know I can't do magic but I can make sure I know all the spells and also I can practice Potions without being in problems and I wanted to learn Occlumency" Harry told Dumbledore.

Dumbledore just stare at Harry with an unreadable expression for a minute, before he said : "very well, if you want to you shall stay, but as I have already told the Weasley's that you will be coming today I shall insist that you paid them a brave visit for the day, the day after tomorrow I will be picking you up from their home to return you here, also I will be giving you a book of Occlumency, since I presume you don't have any idea of how are you going to improve your skills in that field".

"Thank you sir" Harry replied.

"Good," said Dumbledore. "Just one last thing, then." And he turned to speak to the Dursleys once more.

"As you will no doubt be aware, Harry comes of age in a years time —"

"No," said Aunt Petunia, speaking for the first time since Dumbledore's arrival.

"I'm sorry?" said Dumbledore politely.

"No, he doesn't. He's a month younger than Dudley, and Dudders doesn't turn eighteen until the year after next."

"Ah," said Dumbledore pleasantly, "but in the Wizarding world, we come of age at seventeen."

Uncle Vernoii muttered, "Preposterous," but Dumbledore ignored him,

"Now, as you already know, the wizard called Lord Voldemort Was returned to this country. The Wizarding community is currently in a state of open warfare. Harry, whom Lord Voldemort has already attempted to kill on a number of occasions, is in even greater danger now than the day when I left him upon your doorstep fifteen years ago, with a letter explaining about his parents' murder and expressing the hope that you would care for him ;is though he were your own."

Dumbledore paused, and although his voice remained light and calm, and he gave no obvious sign of anger, Harry felt a kind of chill emanating from him and noticed that the Dursleys drew very slightly closer together.

"You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you."

Both Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked around instinc-lively, as though expecting to see someone other than Dudley squeezed between them.

"Us — mistreat Dudders? What d'you — ?" began Uncle Vernon furiously, but Dumbledore raised his ringer for silence, a silence which fell as though he had struck Uncle Vernon dumb.

"The magic I evoked fifteen years ago means that Harry has powerful protection while he can still call this house 'home.' However miserable he has been here, however unwelcome, however badly treated, you have at least, grudgingly, allowed him houseroom. This magic will cease to operate the moment that Harry turns seventeen; in other words, at the moment he becomes a man. I ask only this: that you allow Harry to return, once more, to this house, before his seventeenth birthday, which will ensure that the protection continues until that time. Now since Harry has decided that he will be staying here for study I shall warn you to treat him as he deserves and don't prevent him from studing, don't bother him while he tries to achieve his goal understood? "

None of the Dursleys said anything. Dudley was frowning slightly, as though he was still trying to work out when he had ever been mistreated. Uncle Vernon looked as though he had something stuck in his throat; Aunt Petunia, however, was oddly flushed.

"Well, Harry... time for us to be off," said Dumbledore at last, standing up and straightening his long black cloak. "Until we meet again," he said to the Dursleys, who looked as though that moment could wait forever as far as they were concerned, and after doffing his hat, he swept from the room.

"See you in a couple of days," said Harry hastily to the Dursleys, and followed Dumbledore, who paused beside Harry.

"I would like you to bring your Invisibility Cloak... just in case." Dumbledore said. Harry brought his Cloak and tentatively ask Dumbledore: "Sir, I also wanted to ask you if it's ok if I start jogging around the blocks of the house, I mean if it is not too much trouble for the order members that are watching over me".

Dumbledore look at Harry and smile then he said: " not at all Harry, since the incident with the Dementors last year I amplified the wards here so that they cover 5 blocks from your house, I know that you don't want to spend the hole summer in your bedroom, so as long as you don't go further than the 5 blocks that I've told you, you are safe".

Harry nodded and smile "thank you sir".

Dumbledore then waved his wand again, and the front door opened on to cool, misty darkness.

Harry felt distinctly awkward as they set off down Privet Drive together. He had never had a proper conversation with the headmaster outside of Hogwarts before; there was usually a desk between them. The memory of their last face-to-face encounter kept intruding too, and it rather heightened Harry's sense of embarrassment; he had shouted a lot on that occasion, not to mention done his best to smash several of Dumbledore's most prized possessions.

Dumbledore, however, seemed completely relaxed.

"Keep your wand at the ready, Harry," he said brightly.

"But I thought I'm not allowed to use magic outside school, sir?"

"If there is an attack," said Dumbledore, "I give you permission to use any counterjinx or curse that might occur to you. However, I do not think you need worry about being attacked tonight."

"Why not, sir?"

"You are with me," said Dumbledore simply. "This will do, Harry."

He came to an abrupt halt at the end of Privet Drive.

"You have not, of course, passed your Apparition Test," he said.

"No," said Harry. "I thought you had to be seventeen?"

"You do," said Dumbledore. "So you will need to hold on to my arm very tightly. My left, if you don't mind — as you have noticed, my wand arm is a little fragile at the moment."

Harry gripped Dumbledore's proffered forearm.

"Very good," said Dumbledore. "Well, here we go."

Harry felt Dumbledore's arm twist away from him and redoubled his grip; the next thing he knew, everything went black; he was being pressed very hard from all directions; he could not breathe, there were iron bands tightening around his chest; his eyeballs were being forced back into his head; his eardrums were being pushed deeper into his skull and then —-

He gulped great lungfulls of cold night air and opened his streaming eyes. He felt as though he had just been forced through a very tight rubber tube. It was a few seconds before he realized that Privet Drive had vanished. He and Dumbledore were now standing in what appeared to be a deserted village square, in the center of which stood an old war memorial and a few benches. His comprehension catching up with his senses, Harry realized that he had just Apparated for the first time in his life.

"Are you all right?" asked Dumbledore, looking down at him solicitously. "The sensation does take some getting used to."

"I'm fine," said Harry, rubbing his ears, which felt as though they had left Privet Drive rather reluctantly. "But I think I might prefer brooms..."

Dumbledore smiled, drew his traveling cloak a little more lightly around his neck, and said, "This way."

He set off at a brisk pace, past an empty inn and a few houses. According to a clock on a nearby church, it was almost midnight.

"So tell me, Harry," said Dumbledore. "Your scar... has it been hurting at all?"

Harry raised a hand unconsciously to his forehead and rubbed i he lightning-shaped mark.

"No," he said, "and I've been wondering about that. I thought it would be burning all the time now Voldemort's getting so powerful again."

He glanced up at Dumbledore and saw that he was wearing a satisfied expression.

"I, on the other hand, thought otherwise," said Dumbledore. "Lord Voldemort has finally realized the dangerous access to his thoughts and feelings you have been enjoying. It appears that he is now employing Occlumency against you."

"Well, I'm not complaining," said Harry, who missed neither the disturbing dreams nor the startling flashes of insight into Voldemort's mind.

"I shall say that your idea of improving your skills in Occlumency is great, just in case I mean and as I told you before the day that we return to Private Drive I will give you a book to do such premise". Dumbledore told Harry.

After helping Dumbledore with the new professor Horace Slughorn they appareted to the Burrow.

"If you don't mind, Harry," said Dumbledore, as they passed through the gate, "I'd like a few words with you before we part. In private. Perhaps in here?"

Dumbledore pointed toward a run-down stone outhouse where the Weasleys kept their broomsticks. A little puzzled, Harry followed Dumbledore through the creaking door into a space a little smaller than the average cupboard. Dumbledore illuminated the tip of his wand, so that it glowed like a torch, and smiled down at Harry.

"I hope you will forgive me for mentioning it, Harry, but I am pleased and a little proud at how well you seem to be coping after everything that happened at the Ministry. Permit me to say that I think Sirius would have been proud of you."

Harry swallowed; his voice seemed to have deserted him. He did not think he could stand to discuss Sirius; it had been painful enough to hear Uncle Vernon say "His godfather's dead?" and even worse to hear Siriuss name thrown out casually by Slughorn.

"It was cruel," said Dumbledore softly, "that you and Sirius had such a short time together. A brutal ending to what should have been a long and happy relationship."

Harry nodded, his eyes fixed resolutely on the spider now climbing Dumbledore's hat. He could tell that Dumbledore understood, that he might even suspect that until his letter arrived, Harry had spent nearly all his time at the Dursleys' lying on his bed, refusing meals, and staring at the misted window, full of the chill emptiness i hat he had come to associate with dementors.

"It's just hard," Harry said finally, in a low voice, "to realize he won't write to me again."

His eyes burned suddenly and he blinked. He felt stupid for admitting it, but the fact that he had had someone outside Hogwarts who cared what happened to him, almost like a parent, had been one of the best things about discovering his godfather... and now the post owls would never bring him that comfort again...

"Sirius represented much to you that you had never known before," said Dumbledore gently. "Naturally, the loss is devastat-ing...

"But while I was at the Dursleys'..." interrupted Harry, his voice growing stronger, "I realized I cant shut myself away or — or crack up. Sirius wouldn't have wanted that, would he? And anyway, life's too short... Look at Madam Bones, look at Emmeline Vance... It could be me next, couldn't it? But if it is," he said fiercely, now looking straight into Dumbledore's blue eyes gleaming in the wandlight, "I'll make sure I take as many Death Eaters with me as I can, and Voldemort too if I can manage it."

"Spoken both like your mother and father's son and Sirius's true godson!" said Dumbledore, with an approving pat on Harry's back. "I take my hat off to you — or I would, if I were not afraid of showering you in spiders.

"And now, Harry, on a closely related subject... I gather that you have been taking the Daily Prophet over the last two weeks?"

"Yes," said Harry, and his heart beat a little faster.

"Then you will have seen that there have been not so much leaks as floods concerning your adventure in the Hall of Prophecy?"

"Yes," said Harry again. "And now everyone knows that I'm the one —

"No, they do not," interrupted Dumbledore. "There are only two people in the whole world who know the full contents of the prophecy made about you and Lord Voldemort, and they are both standing in this smelly, spidery broom shed. It is true, however, that many have guessed, correctly, that Voldemort sent his Death Eaters to steal a prophecy, and that the prophecy concerned you.

"Now, I think I am correct in saying that you have not told anybody that you know what the prophecy said?"

"No," said Harry.

"A wise decision, on the whole," said Dumbledore. "Although I think you ought to relax it in favor of your friends, Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger. Yes," he continued, when Harry looked startled, "I think they ought to know. You do them a disservice by not confiding something this important to them."

"I didn't want —"

"— to worry or frighten them?" said Dumbledore, surveying Harry over the top of his half-moon spectacles. "Or perhaps, to confess that you yourself are worried and frightened? You need your friends, Harry. As you so rightly said, Sirius would not have wanted you to shut yourself away."

Harry said nothing, but Dumbledore did not seem to require an answer. He continued, "On a different, though related, subject, it is my wish that you take private lessons with me this year."

"Private — with you?" said Harry, surprised out of his preoccupied silence.

"Yes. I think it is time that I took a greater hand in your education."

"What will you be teaching me, sir?"

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that," said Dumbledore airily.

Harry waited hopefully, but Dumbledore did not elaborate, so he asked something else that had been bothering him slightly.

"If I'm having lessons with you, I won't have to do Occlumency lessons with Snape, will I?"

''Professor Snape, Harry — and no, you will not."

"Good," said Harry in relief, "because they were a —"

He stopped, careful not to say what he really thought.

"I think the word 'fiasco' would be a good one here," said Dumbledore, nodding.

Harry laughed.

"Well, that means I won't see much of Professor Snape from now on," he said, "because he won't let me carry on Potions unless I get 'Outstanding' in my OWL., which I know I haven't."

"Don't count your owls before they are delivered," said Dumbledore gravely. "Which, now I think of it, ought to be some time later today. Now, two more things, Harry, before we part.

"Firstly, I wish you to keep your Invisibility Cloak with you at all times from this moment onward. Even within Hogwarts itself. Just in case, you understand me?"

Harry nodded.

"Secondly I see that you want to tell me something, but you are not sure of how to, may I remind you that you can tell me everything Harry?"

"Um, yes sir, actually I wanted to ask you a small favor, could you please tell everyone at the Burrow that the one who decided that I should stay at the Dursleys is you?"Harry replied a little ashamed.

"Do you want to lie to your friends and make myself lie to them too?" Dumbledore told Harry, while he was watching him over his halfmoon glasses.

"Sir the thing is that if they know that I want to go back, they are going to assume that I am depressed over Sirius death, and are going to feel more pity over me, and also they are going to watch me with sorrow, and I don't want that, it makes me uncomfortable" Harry told the old Headmaster a little shade of red in his face.

"Very well, I'll do that for you, but you will owe me a favor, is that ok?" Dumbledore replied after a moment of thinking what Harry said.

"Of course sir, thank you very much".

"Very well, then," said Dumbledore, pushing open the broom shed door and stepping out into the yard. "I see a light in the kitchen. Let us not deprive Molly any longer of the chance to deplore how thin you are."

As they walk together to the Burrow Harry and Dumbledore were having different thoughts on their minds, while Harry was thinking that he was going to enjoy this day on his friends house, but the next and from then on he was going to work as hard as he could to defeat Voldemort. Meanwhile Dumbledore was glad that Harry was as determined as he could be ,but was also worried that he was going to gradually shut down from the world, so he decided that he was going to do all in his power to not let that happen, and also to make his life the most enjoyable this year as ever, after all Dumbledore itself was responsible for all the pain in this young man's life.

"And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters or the fantasy world created in this story, I just used the fantastic mind of JKR to make my own version of it.

**Chapter 1: Troubles in the Horizon. **

Harry and Dumbledore approached the back door of the Burrow, which was surrounded by the familiar litter of old Wellington boots and rusty cauldrons; Harry could hear the soft clucking of sleepy chickens coming from a distant shed. Dumbledore knocked three times and Harry saw sudden movement behind the kitchen window.

"Who's there?" said a nervous voice he recognized as Mrs. Weasley's. "Declare yourself!"

"It is I, Dumbledore, bringing Harry."

The door opened at once. There stood Mrs. Weasley, short, plump, and wearing an old green dressing gown.

"Harry, dear! Gracious, Albus, you gave me a fright, you said not to expect you before morning!"

"We were lucky," said Dumbledore, ushering Harry over the threshold. "Slughorn proved much more persuadable than I had expected. Harry's doing, of course. Ah, hello, Nymphadora!"

Harry looked around and saw that Mrs. Weasley was not alone, despite the lateness of the hour. A young witch with a pale, heart-shaped face and mousy brown hair was sitting at the table clutching a large mug between her hands.

"Hello, Professor," she said. "Wotcher, Harry."

"Hi, Tonks."

Harry thought she looked drawn, even ill, and there was something forced in her smile. Certainly her appearance was less colorful than usual without her customary shade of bubble-gum-pink hair.

"I'd better be off," she said quickly, standing up and pulling her cloak around her shoulders. "Thanks for the tea and sympathy, Molly"

"Please don't leave on my account," said Dumbledore courteously, "I cannot stay, I have urgent matters to discuss with Rufus Scrimgeour."

"No, no, I need to get going," said Tonks, not meeting Dumbledore's eyes. "'Night..."

"Dear, why not come to dinner at the weekend, Remus and Mad-Eye are coming...?"

"No, really, Molly... thanks anyway... Good night, every-one.

Tonks hurried past Dumbledore and Harry into the yard; a few paces beyond the doorstep, she turned on the spot and vanished into thin air. Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley looked troubled.

"Well, I don't want to annoy you Molly, but I´m afraid I have some bad news" said Dumbledore. "And what news are those?" replied Mrs. Weasley lightly worried.

"I'm sorry but Harry must return to his relative's house tomorrow morning, I will be coming to pick him myself, so you don't have to worry about it". Dumbledore answered. "But, why? I thought it was ok of him being here, I mean you tell me it was ok." Mrs. Weasley told Dumbledore a little bit angry, which cause Harry to feel guilty to put the Headmaster in this position.

However Dumbledore was calm as he look at Mrs. Weasley and replied: "Sorry Molly, I know what I said, but I was wrong Harry is safer in that house, he is not too keen on the idea either, but he accepts it, I think I don't have to remind you that his wealth being is the most important and that in that place there is a strong magic that makes it the safest place for him?". "Of course not Albus, but I was excited with the idea, as well as everybody else here, but if it must be done, then I trust you as always". Mrs. Weasley said.

"Good, now as I said I must get going I have to see the Minister, so I think it will be a good idea if you go and collect the school supplies later today?" after a nod from the matriarch of the Weasley clan he continued " ok, well, I shall see you tomorrow, Harry," said Dumbledore. "Take care of yourself. Molly, your servant." He made Mrs. Weasley a bow and followed Tonks, vanishing at precisely the same spot. Mrs. Weasley closed the door on the empty yard and then steered Harry by the shoulders into the full glow of the lantern on the table to examine his appearance.

After Dumbledore was gone Mrs. Weasley gave Harry food and told him about the promotion that Mr. Weasley received and explained him everything about the new job; after a few moments Mr. Weasley came to the Burrow.

Mr. Weasley turned hopefully in the direction of the table.

"Harry! We didn't expect you until morning!"

"Unfortunately he can't stay" Mr. Weasley was about to say something but his wife said "Albus says he is safer in his relatives house, so we have to go to Diagon Alley later to buy the things for school, so I suppose that the letters are arriving in the morning, is that all right with you dear? "."Its fine dear, I don't have to work".

Mr. Weasley turned and faced Harry "It's really a shame you can't stay the whole summer Harry". "Yeah, but I think it is necessary" when the two adults give Harry a curious look he added "I mean if Dumbledore says so, it's probably the best thing right?" and the Weasley's gave him affirmative nods in response.

After that Mr. Weasley explained he was late because he had to confiscate some Metamorph-Medals and when Harry let out a yawn Mrs. Weasley sent him to bed in the old room of Fred and George.

Seconds later, or so it seemed to Harry, he was awakened by what sounded like cannon fire as the door burst open. Sitting bolt upright, he heard the rasp of the curtains being pulled back: The dazzling sunlight seemed to poke him hard in both eyes. Shielding them with one hand, he groped hopelessly for his glasses with the other.

"Wuzzgoinon?"

"We didn't know you were here already!" said a loud and excited voice, and he received a sharp blow to the top of the head.

"Ron, don't hit him!" said a girl's voice reproachfully.

Harry's hand found his glasses and he shoved them on, though the light was so bright he could hardly see anyway. A long, looming shadow quivered in front of him for a moment; he blinked and Ron Weasley came into focus, grinning down at him.

"All right?"

"Never been better," said Harry, rubbing the top of his head and slumping back onto his pillows. "You?"

"Not bad," said Ron, pulling over a cardboard box and sitting on it. "When did you get here? Mum's only just told us!"

"About one o'clock this morning."

"Were the Muggles all right? Did they treat you okay?"

"Same as usual," said Harry, as Hermione perched herself on the edge of his bed, "they didn't talk to me much, but I like it better that way. How're you, Hermione?"

"Oh, I'm fine," said Hermione, who was scrutinizing Harry as though he was sickening for something. He thought he knew what was behind this, and as he had no wish to discuss Sirius's death or any other miserable subject at the moment, he said, "What's the time? Have I missed breakfast?"

"Don't worry about that, Mum's bringing you up a tray; she reckons you look underfed," said Ron, rolling his eyes. "So, what's been going on?"

"Nothing much, I've just been stuck at my aunt and uncle's, haven't I?"

"Come off it!" said Ron. "You've been off with Dumbledore!"

"It wasn't that exciting. He just wanted me to help him persuade this old teacher to come out of retirement. His name's Horace Slughorn."

"Oh," said Ron, looking disappointed. "We thought..."

Hermione flashed a warning look at Ron, and Ron changed tack at top speed.

"...we thought it'd be something like that."

"You did?" said Harry, amused.

"Yeah... yeah, now Umbridge has left, obviously we need a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, don't we? So, er, what's he like?"

"He looks a bit like a walrus, and he used to be Head of Slytherin," said Harry. "Something wrong, Hermione?"

She was watching him as though expecting strange symptoms to manifest themselves at any moment. She rearranged her features hastily in an unconvincing smile.

"No, of course not! So, um, did Slughorn seem like he'll be a good teacher?"

"Dunno," said Harry. "He can't be worse than Umbridge, can he?"

"I know someone who's worse than Umbridge," said a voice from the doorway. Ron's younger sister slouched into the room, looking irritable. "Hi, Harry."

"What's up with you?" Ron asked.

"It's her," said Ginny, plonking herself down on Harry's bed. "She's driving me mad."

"What's she done now?" asked Hermione sympathetically.

"It's the way she talks to me... you'd think I was about three!"

"I know," said Hermione, dropping her voice. "She's so full of herself."

Harry was astonished to hear Hermione talking about Mrs. Weasley like this and could not blame Ron for saying angrily, "Can't you two lay off her for five seconds?"

"Oh, that's right, defend her," snapped Ginny. "We all know you can't get enough of her."

This seemed an odd comment to make about Ron's mother. Starting to feel that he was missing something, Harry said, "Who are you...?"

But his question was answered before he could finish it. The bedroom door flew open again, and Harry instinctively yanked the bedcovers up to his chin so hard that Hermione and Ginny slid off the bed onto the floor.

A young woman was standing in the doorway, a woman of such breathtaking beauty that the room seemed to have become strangely airless. She was tall and willowy with long blonde hair and appeared to emanate a faint, silvery glow. To complete this vision of perfection, she was carrying a heavily laden breakfast tray.

"'Arry," she said in a throaty voice. "Eet 'as been too long!"

As she swept over the threshold toward him, Mrs. Weasley was revealed, bobbing along in her wake, looking rather cross.

"There was no need to bring up the tray; I was just about to do it myself!"

"Eet was no trouble," said Fleur Delacour, setting the tray across Harry's knees and then swooping to kiss him on each cheek: He felt the places where her mouth had touched him burn. "I 'ave been longing to see 'im. You remember my seester, Gabrielle? She never stops talking about 'Arry Potter. She will be delighted to see you again."

"Oh... is she here too?" Harry croaked.

"No, no, silly boy," said Fleur with a tinkling laugh, "I mean next summer, when we... but do you not know?"

Her great blue eyes widened and she looked reproachfully at Mrs. Weasley, who said, "We hadn't got around to telling him yet."

Fleur turned back to Harry, swinging her silvery sheet of hair so that it whipped Mrs. Weasley across the face.

"Bill and I are going to be married!"

"Oh," said Harry blankly. He could not help noticing how Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny were all determinedly avoiding one another's gaze. "Wow. Er... congratulations!"

She swooped down upon him and kissed him again.

"Bill is very busy at ze moment, working very 'ard, and I only work part-time at Gringotts for my Eenglish, so he brought me 'ere for a few days to get to know 'is family properly. I was so pleased to 'ear you would be coming... zere isn't much to do 'ere, unless you like cooking and chickens! Well... enjoy your breakfast, 'Arry!"

With these words she turned gracefully and seemed to float out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Mrs. Weasley made a noise that sounded like, "tchah!"

"Mum hates her," said Ginny quietly.

"I do not hate her!" said Mrs. Weasley in a cross whisper. "I just think they've hurried into this engagement, that's all!"

"They've known each other a year," said Ron, who looked oddly groggy and was staring at the closed door.

"Well, that's not very long! I know why it's happened, of course. Its all this uncertainty with You-Know-Who coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, and center..."

"Including you and Dad," said Ginny slyly.

"Yes, well, your father and I were made for each other, what was the point in waiting?" said Mrs. Weasley. "Whereas Bill and Fleur... well... what have they really got in common? He's a hardworking, down-to-earth sort of person, whereas she's..."

"A cow," said Ginny, nodding. "But Bill's not that down-to-earth. He's a Curse-Breaker, isn't he, he likes a bit of adventure, a bit of glamour... I expect that's why he's gone for Phlegm."

"Stop calling her that, Ginny," said Mrs. Weasley sharply, as Harry and Hermione laughed. "Well, I'd better get on... Eat your eggs while they're warm, Harry!".

After that they discuss the problems of Tonks, and Mrs. Weasley came and dragged Ginny out and told them to be ready because they were going out, but before anyone could ask why she was out, so Harry decided to tell them that they were going to Diagon Alley." "But why?" Hermione asked.

"Because we have to go and do the school shopping" at the confused faces of his friends Harry decided to tell them the "bad news" "The thing is that I can't stay here the summer, I have to go back to the Dursley's tomorrow morning" "WHAT! WHY!" Ron asked "Because Dumbledore said I am safer there and that I have to be there until the start of term"

"But that's not fare; he already said that you could be here!". "It doesn't matter it's Dumbledore orders, so we should follow them". Harry replied.

Hermione was eyeing him suspiciously, and Harry knew he was in trouble because Hermione had the capacity to read him like a book, and she was about to discover the truth about it, so he tried to avoid to look at her, but it was already too late because she told him: "is it really because Dumbledore says it that you have to be with the Dursley's or because you want to be there because you don't feel comfortable with us, you know about what happened last term? ".

When he heard this Harry was furious, she thought that it was because of Sirius's death; well partially it was because of it but it was not the main reason behind his idea of being in Privet Drive for the summer, so he decided to tell her the only thing that would make her accept this without further questions, and Harry was already hating himself for what he was about to tell her, but it was necessary, he needed this summer alone, to think, to prepare himself for the things that were going to come.

"And you are telling me this? If I remember correctly you have followed Dumbledore's orders just as fine as me, or even more; have you already forgotten what you did to me last summer? No letters, no communication at all with you two, while I was living a hell there just because Dumbledore told you to just leave me alone and you did it without second thoughts. I don't like being there, but he wants me there and I have to put up with it".

Hermione was taken by surprise by this response and she look down, Harry was already wanting to apologize, because Hermione was the one that always stood by his side, always, she was for sure the best friend Harry had, not even Ron was as good as her; while Ron had a combination of anger and shame in his face. Harry didn't want to be in a row with his best friends so after an awkward silence he said: "look, I am not angry, really that is in the past, you thought that was the best thing to do because you trust Dumbledore with your life, so do I, that's why I am not putting a fight against going to Privet Drive. I'm sorry I said that to you Hermione, I really am, but we can't do anything but enjoy the summer the best way we can ok?". Grabbing one of Hermione's hand Harry squeeze it and tell her "are we ok? I will hate if we are mad with each other" Hermione just smile at him and give a nod that make Harry feel better "Of course we are ok Harry, I can't be mad at you, you know that". "Great!" Neither of them saw the frown that Ron had in his face at that moment. Hermione separated from Harry and went to see an old trunk from Fred and George.

They were in silence, each of them one their one thoughts; Harry was debating himself if he was going to tell them about the prophecy or not, or even the lessons with Dumbledore, but decided against in both options, because he wanted to think a bit more on the prophecy matter, he would tell them in the beginning of next term; and he wouldn't tell them about the lessons because he thought Ron probably would get jealous and maybe both of them would want the lessons too and if Dumbledore would have wanted them there he would have told Harry, besides how would he explain the sudden lessons without telling them about the prophecy. Fortunately the silence was broken when Hermione was punched by a telescope.

After Harry told them that they were receiving their OWLs today everybody was nervous, specially Hermione but when the OWLs arrived Harry saw how he did.

Ordinary Wizarding Level Results

Pass Grades:

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

Fail Grades:

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

Harry James Potter has achieved:

Astronomy A

Care of Magical Creatures E

Charms E

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

Divination P

Herbology E

History of Magic D

Potions E

Transfiguration E

Harry read the parchment through several times, his breathing becoming easier with each reading. It was all right: He had always known that he would fail Divination, and he had had no chance of passing History of Magic, given that he had collapsed halfway through the examination, but he had passed everything else! He ran his finger down the grades... he had passed well in Transfiguration and Herbology, he had even exceeded expectations at Potions! And best of all, he had achieved "Outstanding" at Defense Against the Dark Arts!

He looked around. Hermione had her back to him and her head bent, but Ron was looking delighted.

"Only failed Divination and History of Magic, and who cares about them?" he said happily to Harry. "Here... swap..."

Harry glanced down Ron's grades: There were no "Outstandings" there...

"Knew you'd be top at Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Ron, punching Harry on the shoulder. "We've done all right, haven't we?"

"Well done!" said Mrs. Weasley proudly, ruffling Ron's hair. "Seven OWLs, that's more than Fred and George got together!"

"Hermione?" said Ginny tentatively, for Hermione still hadn't turned around. "How did you do?"

"I-not bad," said Hermione in a small voice.

"Oh, come off it," said Ron, striding over to her and whipping her results out of her hand. "Yep... ten 'Outstandings' and one 'Exceeds Expectations' at Defense Against the Dark Arts." He looked down at her, half-amused, half-exasperated. "You're actually disappointed, aren't you?"

Hermione shook her head, but Harry laughed.

"Well, we're N.E.W.T. students now!" grinned Ron. "Mum, are there any more sausages?"

Harry looked back down at his results. They were as good as he could have hoped for. He felt just one tiny twinge of regret... This was the end of his ambition to become an Auror. He had not secured the required Potions grade. He had known all along that he wouldn't, but he still felt a sinking in his stomach as he looked again at that small black E.

It was odd, really, seeing that it had been a Death Eater in disguise who had first told Harry he would make a good Auror, but somehow the idea had taken hold of him, and he couldn't really think of anything else he would like to be. Moreover, it had seemed the right destiny for him since he had heard the prophecy a few weeks ago... Neither can live while the other survives...Wouldn't he be living up to the prophecy, and giving himself the best chance of survival, if he joined those highly trained wizards whose job it was to find and kill Voldemort?

But not everything were bad news, Harry had been made the Quidditch captain which trouble him a little, because that would cost him some free time to train, but he had time to think about it, and if he decided against it he would tell McGonagall in due time.

After in that day they went to Diagon Alley where they had a row with Draco Malfoy and his mother in Madam Malkins, but after that in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Harry found out that the twins had made him their business partner and they were depositing the 15% of their earning in his vault in Gringotts. But the curious and frightening thing was what they saw later when they follow Malfoy to Knockturn Alley and enter into Borgin and Burkes and asked Borgin to explain how to fix something and to kept another thing for him. Later in the Burrow the three of them were discussing possibilities of the strange event in the day but neither Ron nor Hermione were giving him much interest in the subject.

"Yes, I've already agreed it was fishy, Harry," said Hermione a little impatiently. She was sitting on the windowsill in Fred and George's room with her feet up on one of the cardboard boxes and had only grudgingly looked up from her new copy of Advanced Rune Translation. "But haven't we agreed there could be a lot of explanations?"

"Maybe he's broken his Hand of Glory" said Ron vaguely, as he attempted to straighten his broomstick's bent tail twigs. "Remember that shriveled-up arm Malfoy had?"

"But what about when he said, 'Don't forget to keep that one safe'?" asked Harry for the umpteenth time. "That sounded to me like Borgin's got another one of the broken objects, and Malfoy wants both."

"You reckon?" said Ron, now trying to scrape some dirt off his broom handle.

"Yeah, I do," said Harry. When neither Ron nor Hermione answered, he said, "Malfoy's father's in Azkaban. Don't you think Malfoy'd like revenge?"

Ron looked up, blinking.

"Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?"

"That's my point, I don't know!" said Harry, frustrated. "But he's up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father's a Death Eater and …"

Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him.

"Harry?" said Hermione in an anxious voice. "What's wrong?"

"Your scar's not hurting again, is it?" asked Ron nervously.

"He's a Death Eater," said Harry slowly. "He's replaced his father as a Death Eater!"

There was a silence; then Ron erupted in laughter. "Malfoy? He's sixteen, Harry! You think You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join?"

"It seems very unlikely, Harry," said Hermione in a repressive sort of voice. "What makes you think …?"

"In Madam Malkin's. She didn't touch him, but he yelled and jerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve. It was his left arm. He's been branded with the Dark Mark."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"Well..." said Ron, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

"I think he just wanted to get out of there, Harry," said Hermione.

"He showed Borgin something we couldn't see," Harry pressed on stubbornly. "Something that seriously scared Borgin. It was the Mark, I know it… he was showing Borgin who he was dealing with, you saw how seriously Borgin took him!"

Ron and Hermione exchanged another look.

"I'm not sure, Harry..."

"Yeah, I still don't reckon You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join..."

Harry annoyed went to have something to eat, and then he headed back to his room, expecting next morning when he was going to return to Private Drive, to his first days of training and the changes that were up to him in the future.

The next morning he was woken up very early by Mrs. Weasley who told him that Dumbledore was there; Harry changed clothes and then he went down to the kitchen, when he saw his clock he realized it was 7 in the morning so he wasn't surprised when he entered and only saw Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore.

"Ah! Good morning Harry, I presume your day here was very pleasant?"

"Yes professor, good morning to both of you". Harry replied.

After having breakfast, Dumbledore spoke: "Now, shall we get going?". "Of course sir, Mrs. Weasley thank you for your hospitality, please tell everyone that I will see them at the start of the term".

Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a big hug and told him "don't worry dear I will, but you will be coming here one day before the start of the term so we can all go together to the station". After that Harry and Dumbledore went out of the house and after vanishing they appeared at Private Drive number four. Turning to see Harry, Dumbledore told him "Harry I trust you will achieve what you want this summer, remember the wards extent 5 blocks at a circumference". "Thank you professor, I hope I will too". Dumbledore turned around but before he start walking he said "oh! How silly of me, I almost forgot" he turn around again and gave Harry a small blue book "this is the book on Occlumency I promised you Harry, I hope it helps you".

Then he turned around and vanished in the air, Harry then entered the house while thinking 'this time I will protect everyone Voldemort, and I start right now, I will train as hard as I can to confront you, I will be the man that I am suppose to be, the man that my parents wanted me to be and I will make them proud of me. You will pay for what you have done to all those innocent families all over the years, I promise'.

This chapter has again more stuff from the book, but also has a bit of different things, in next chapter the real changes to Harry will come.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters or the fantasy world created in this story, I just used the fantastic mind of JKR to make my own version of it.

**Chapter 3: Beginning of the summer. **

Upon entering the house, Harry saw the Dursley's having breakfast, they noticed him too but they didn´t say anything to him, so Harry supposed it was due to what Dumbledore had told the Dursley's two days ago. He decided on not thinking about it, and after a quick "hello" he went upstairs into his bedroom. There he saw Hedwig, who greeted him with a soft hoot and a soft nibble in his ear. "I missed you too girl, I supposed it's the two of us now, like it always is when we are here". He then began to stroke softly its feathers and after five minutes he went to his small desk and decided to begun planning his summer activities.

Harry then started to do a time schedule, he chuckled because this was one of the things that Hermione had nagged him over the years, but until now he didn't have the intention to really do it; at 5 am in the morning he will go to run and afterwards do several exercises like pushups and abs after that he will shower and eat his breakfast. He would start checking his school books from the start, since first year till the last one. At 7.30 he would go over charms till 9.30 then transfiguration until 11.30 and after that, although he hadn't acquired the O he needed he would practice some potions until 1.30, because he thought he needed the knowledge in that subject, despise the fact that his dream of being an Auror had been demolished he still needed to learn potions at least to the OWL level.

At 1.30 he will have lunch and after that he will go to the park 3 blocks away, to relax a little, he didn't want to end like Hermione last term when they were having their OWLs, she looked in the verge of being ill form stress or even worse like Angelina Johnson with her NEWTs, she was a bit crazy from stress.

Once he had returned from the park Harry decided he would do more pushups and abs, after that he will check his knowledge in DADA, which should be quick because he had an O in his OWL, then he would check Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures theory just in case he told himself. After this he will have dinner and then he will start his training in Occlumency.

When Harry finished his schedule he checked the book Dumbledore gave him, and to his surprise it was a notebook from instructions and tips in Occlumency written by Dumbledore himself, this was great, because it was more personal, Dumbledore new Harry, so he knew how to talk to him and how to make him understand things easier, he was truly happy. But Harry discovered that he had a problem, he didn't have shorts or sneakers to run, thanks to the Dursley's for no ever buying him any clothes and specially Dudley because he never in his life had done some physical exercise; so he decided to send Hedwig with a letter and a bag with coins to Remus so he would be able to purchase those things for him, along with some ingredients for the potions he was going to make.

After Harry saw Hedwig leave, he started to organize his bedroom, again he chuckled, because this was one of the other things Hermione have been telling him to do since they were in first year, she always told him that being an organized person would improve his development in school; while he was organizing his bedroom Harry realized that without Hermione he wouldn't have gone far in his life, he owned her too much to ever repay her and even more she had been right about the DOM, it was a trap and he hadn't listened to her, he decided that from now on he would be for Hermione the way she always was for him, to listen to her troubles, to aid her in her problems, lo just listen whatever issue she had in her mind, and he promise he would try to defend her from Ron's anger when she needed him to , because so far in their friendship Harry had always remain neutral in their fights, although most of the times Hermione was right and Ron was just being a prat and a dumb.

Harry then started with his studies, he grab his Charms first year book, he began reading it, and with no surprise he found it boring, but he told himself that it was necessary, so he continued reading it and he stop himself every time he found a spell, if he knew it then he would simply pass the page, but if he didn´t he would memorize the incantation, the wand movement, and the information of what the spell was useful for. He continued like that all the morning with his Transfigurations first year book too, but soon he realized that although he could learn the wand movement, that was not enough he had to practice the movement itself, so what he could do? Harry was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard a noise in his window, there was Pig, Ron's owl, Harry went to the window and opened it, after Pig enter the room he pick the letter attached to the owl´s leg; he saw the handwriting and it definitely was Hermione's.

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope you aren't still angry because we don't agree with you about the Malfoy issue, but there's really not evidence of what are you saying is true and frankly I seriously doubt that Voldemort will have a sixteen year old boy under his command. Anyway, why didn't you tell us goodbye today, you just left without any word; we are pretty upset about this, whether you were angry or not at least you could have say that to us, we are friends after all! _

_Well, we really hope you have the nicest summer possible while you are at your relatives, we are going to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to see if they can talk to Dumbledore and convince him for you to come here as fast as possible. We will try Harry!_

_Don't stop writing please, we will write you as frequently as we can too._

_Love _

_Hermione and Ron_

After reading the letter, Harry felt a little bit guilty because he realized that his friends should think he was angry about them not believing in what he said about Malfoy, also because he didn't told them that it was his idea to be in Privet Drive so they really didn't have a chance in convincing Dumbledore, so he decided he should reply at once. Grabbing a parchment and his quill he wrote the letter to them.

_Dear Hermione and Ron_

_I'm sorry if you thought that I was angry with you about Malfoy, yesterday I was just a little bit annoyed so I went to sleep to clear my mind, it's just that I know I am right, but there's no point in discussing it right now, we will talk about it once we are reunited; the reason I didn't said goodbye is because it was really early when I had to leave and I didn't want to wake any of you. _

_Thanks for trying to bring me there, I really appreciate it; right now I am a little bit bored but I guess that will pass with the summer_._ Don't worry I won't stop writing although my letters won't be much exciting after all I am stuck in my uncle's house. Have fun, after all this is summer and since we just pass our OWLs we don't have homework, much to Hermione's dismay (sorry there Hermione, I couldn't resist the joke)._

_See you soon,_

_Harry_

Harry attached the letter to Pig, and sent it through his window, he had put some lies there, but it was necessary, he didn't want them to know what he was doing; he wasn't prepared to tell them everything, at least not yet; and obviously he couldn't tell them through owl.

After a quick glance towards his clock he noticed it was 1 o clock, so he decided he would have lunch a little bit earlier just today. He went to the kitchen and he found there his aunt Petunia, she looked at him with a scowl. "What do you want here?" She snapped.

"Sorry aunt Petunia, but I was going to make my lunch" Harry replied. "Well, who do you think you are? I am not going to feed you the hole summer if you don't do any chores, so you can forget about you idea of eating free here" His aunt replied.

Harry realized that this was no good for him, of course the Dursley's would want him to do something for them, if he did chores he would waste time in his training and he wouldn't allow that, so he decided to play the Dumbledore card and since he was going to make his own meals anyway, he thought that if he just cook was a good arrangement. "Aunt Petunia, do you remember what my headmaster told you two days ago?" when he noticed the fear in his aunt's face he knew she had just remembered, so he continued "I will make a deal with you, I have to study the hole summer, and I don't have much time to waste, but I do agree that I have to help here, if I do the gardening I will waste too much time, as well as if I clean all the house so I think that if you leave all the ingredients ready here at 1.30 I will cook the meals and it will be ready tops at 2.30, also I will clean my own room, that way I will contribute with the chores and still will have time to study, what do you think?". His aunt after a few seconds of thinking about it reluctantly nodded. So Harry started making the lunch, after all it wasn't a bad deal, he could cook and that way he could make sure that at least the food that he ate was good, and he wouldn't waste any time, besides over the years he had make practically all the chores in the house so this was just fare.

After eating Harry went to the park, he sat in the same swing he always did, he remembered the first time he knew about magic, and how excited he was about going to Hogwarts how he checked all his books before he went there, well no like Hermione, but he certainly checked them, he remembered he wanted to be good at school so he hadn't have to go back to the Dursley's, he was wondering what had gone bad in that path; when he was at Hogwarts, in his first lessons he had pay attention to the professors but that had change when he started to be more and more Ron's friend, because the redhead was lazy, he didn't like to work hard, all he thought was about Quidditch, eating, and playing chess. Ron was a good friend, his best mate, but if Harry wanted to succeed in defeating Voldemort, he would have to stop spending so much time with Ron, because all he wanted was to have fun, but the time for fun was over, at least for Harry. Also Harry noticed that he hadn't honored the memory of his parent's, while his father was a prankster he also knew that James Potter was intelligent he was the best in Transfiguration and his mother was the version of Hermione in that time, Harry begun to wonder how disappointed they would be with him, specially his mother; well all of that was going to change.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't noticed when a girl took the swing next to him, he almost fell backwards when he noticed her there, she noticed his sudden movement and smiled at him, in that moment Harry really looked at the girl, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, well except maybe Fleur, but she really was breathtaking, she was blond, with a tiny nose, light blue eyes like the color of the sky, she had tanned soft skin and she was wearing a white short with a pink tank top, so he was able to look at her body, her long and lender legs, her big breasts, her plain stomach, she really had an amazing body. Probably she was 19 or 20 year old.

In that moment Harry realized that he was staring at her, and he blushed furiously and quickly looked away, he didn't know what to do, he stared at the ground and there he saw a wooden stick, probably a branch from a tree, and then remembering his problem with learning the wand movements, something in his mind made a click; quickly he grabbed the stick and went to his house, here was the solution, while he couldn't do magic, and couldn´t practice the wand movement with his wand because he might have an accident and the spell could fire, the stick was the answer to the problem, he could practice the movement with it, and he wouldn't have to worry about the spell firing itself with it, it was perfect!

He reached number four quickly, and then he realized that, he just had walked out of the park like a crazy person, what would that girl be thinking about him! But what was he thinking; the girl probably didn't even want to talk to him, besides he didn't have the time to think about those things, she was a muggle, a gorgeous muggle yes, but a muggle. No relationship could happen between them, besides she was like three years older than him, no he just would concentrate in his task, studying to increase his power in order to defeat Voldemort.

In his bedroom Harry started to do pushups and abs, then he started checking his first year book of DADA, and with his stick he practiced the wand movements, this subject was really easy, he really remembered all the spells, so after a quick check, he started studying Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures theory. When he finished he went downstairs to have dinner, just when he was about to finish eating, the bell of the house run "Boy! Go and see who it is!" his uncle yelled.

So Harry sat up, and went to the door, when he opened it he saw the last mauredeur Remus Lupin. "Hello Harry". "Hi Moony, what are you doing here?" Remus chuckled and replied: "well you asked me if I could buy you some things for you, and I had this as a free day so, I purchase them for you, here" he handed Harry a small box, and at the confuse look of Harry he continued talking "well I put a charm on it, you just have to tip it with your wand and the shrunk objects will regain their original size, I do hope that the clothes fit you, and that all the ingredients you expected for you potions are there"

"Wow, thanks I don't know how to pay you back, you really help me here"

"No problem Harry, you know I will always be there for you. But unfortunately I have to go now, it's a little bit late, and I don't think that your aunt and uncle will be too pleased if they see me here"

Harry chuckled, "well I suppose not, bye Moony have a safe journey home"

"Thanks Harry, see you at the end of the summer, hopefully will be able to catch up a bit, then. " Remus turned around, but before he could even think of doing anything.

"Wait" Harry yelled. Remus turned around and Harry added. "Just, can you do me a favor, don't tell anyone of what I ask from you please, not even Ron and Hermione".

"Well, ok. I don't see the damage on telling other people about this, but if this is what you want, then I will respect your wishes, take care Harry" and with that Remus disappeared.

Harry ran to upstairs to his room, there with his wand he tapped the items inside the box that Remus brought for him, when he saw his belongings, he was really pleased, Remus had done a great job, he bought Harry a pair of black sneakers, for him to run two pairs of shorts, five t-shirts, and a great amount of ingredients for preparing the potions Harry wanted, he was absolutely happy. After putting all of this stuff in his wardrobe, Harry grab his Occlumency book and started to read the first chapter, there Dumbledore explained that in order to have strong shields against any attempt of mind invasion, first you had to be able to calm yourself, and put your mind in a peaceful state, there he described a lot of exercises to be able to do that, the first one was thinking of a moment in your life where you had been at peace and with nothing worrying you, which Harry found very difficult because all his life he had a lot in mind, for his first ten years he was always sad and wishing he had his parents with him or maybe to be dead so he would be with them, then when he learned about magic and was waiting to go to Hogwarts he was anxious and a little bit nervous, but in his first year his mind was in deep thought about the philosophers stone, in his second year with everybody calling him the heir of Slytherin and the attacks in school it was nightmare, in his third one he was troubled by the menace of Sirius Black, although that wasn't really a threat but nonetheless he was always thinking about it, and when the term ended and all his hopes of living with Sirius were crashed he had a horrible summer, after that with the whole mess of the Tri Wizard Tournament in his fourth year he barely had a time to break free, and last year was a constant nightmare during nights and a hell thanks to Umbridge and the isolation Dumbledore put him in during the days which ended the worst way possible with Sirius death.

Harry let out a long sigh when he realized that his life had turn from bad to worse. After a couple of minutes he remembered all the good things he had gained in his life since he was eleven, he had two best friends, he had Dumbledore who was kind of his grandfather and his mentor, Remus, the Weasley family that loved him like he were one of his own, all the teachers in Hogwarts that although weren't as close to him as the headmaster they always look in a kind way to him-except Snape- his peers and friends at school, and even if he painfully admitted he had the memory of the time spent with Sirius which was wonderful.

So he started to dig inside his memory for a moment when he was truly at peace, and he found the memory of the end of second year, after the final feast had taken place and all the problems had fade away, the people petrified were now in excellent condition again, Gryffindor had won the house cup for second year, the rest of the students no longer thought Harry was the heir, the chamber was closed for ever, and exams were cancelled so he had a couple of days where he was able to be carefree he just spent the time with Ron and Hermione with walks around the lake, and occasionally flying in his broom just enjoying the day; so this was going to be his memory for calming himself and being peaceful in order to improve his Occlumency skills. After practicing for about an hour or so, he went to sleep.

The next day he got up at 5 in the morning and quickly got dressed and went for a run, carefully trying not to go further than the 5 blocks Dumbledore had told him the wards ended; he noticed that although he was not a bad runner he wasn't a good either, the fact that he practiced Quidditch on a broom didn't improve his running skills but it did improve his reflexes which was a handicap in duels. After that he went to number four and followed his morning schedule, he was glad he had that stick with him because he noticed that practicing the wand movement made it somehow more easy to learned the spell, at 1.30 he went down to the kitchen and made the lunch. After eating he went to the park, and rested his mind while he sat at "his" swing.

After a while he spotted the gorgeous girl, he saw yesterday approaching, today he wore a white tank top, and a green short with sandals, Harry didn't knew what to do, so he just stay there, then the girl came to a stop just in front of him, he looked at her beautiful eyes, she smiled at him and said "hi, do you mind if I sit next to you?" Harry just shook his head and replied while she was sitting "hi, I am Harry" and he extended his hand to her.

She took it and replied in return "I am Loraine, nice to meet you" Harry noticed that her accent wasn't from Britain, but it wasn't exactly American, Canadian or Australian either.

"Sorry for asking this but, I haven't seen you here before, have you just move in?" Harry asked her. "Sort of" she answer, at his puzzled face she continued "Actually I study in the States in a college, but I am from France, my mother and I moved there a couple of years ago, and she met this guy who used to live here, but he also moved there a year and a half ago, they are going to marry and they are buying a house in Seattle, where they both work so he asked us if we could come here for the summer before he sold his house, so we came"

"Oh, I see" was Harry's response, after that there was an awkward silence, but fortunately Loraine broke it "I assume you live here" at his affirmative nod she added "well that's great, you could show me around here, I don't know anyone, and if you don't mind can you bring me when you go around with your friends, I get bore inside the house alone with my mum and William" Harry's mind had a debate, while he wanted nothing to distract him from the training, some part of him wanted to be close to this beautiful young woman the most time possible, at the end this part won the battle.

"Well, I don't have the mornings free, nor the afternoons after 4, but after lunch and before that, I suppose I can show you around, but I don't have any friends here" she had a curious look on her face so he added "you see I study on a boarding school since I was 11 so I don't have friends here". "Oh, OK".

Harry saw the hour in his watch, and suddenly stood up, "er, sorry but I have to go, it was nice talking to you" after he gave a couple of steps Loraine call for him "Harry! Will we meet again tomorrow?" After a moment of thinking and realizing that he did want to meet with her badly, he said "sure, come here approximately at 2.30, I will be here or will be coming around that hour, see you tomorrow" she smiled at him and told him "Great! See you tomorrow"

Harry went to his aunt's house still thinking of her, when he reached his room he started his training once more, and at night he continued with his Occlumency sessions. Before he went to sleep he thought about Loraine, the gorgeous girl that would make his summer not only training, but also I bit of relaxing and enjoyable for him which was extremely good.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I was busy trying to finish the best way possible my term, studying for exams and handing some research work I had to do. Anyway, in this chapter I explained in what Harry's training will consist over the summer and also added Loraine who will be the summer love of Harry, this idea came from the fic Summer Love from true-elven, which I liked a lot, but here Hermione won't come to Private Drive, as I said in this story there won't be any true romance between Harry and Hermione, but in the sequel that I also plan to do they will be in the end together, this is because I am following the books canon, and I also always wanted to see I little bit more independent Harry, I know that Hermione is the perfect match for him, not only because of their connection, but also because she helps him when he can't do lot of stuff but I truly believe that Harry needs to earn the power to defeat Voldemort. Enough of this, I will be posting very soon and more frequently because I have more time now.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters or the fantasy world created in this story, I just used the fantastic mind of JKR to make my own version of it.

**Chapter 4: A New friendship. **

After he went for his morning run and his exercises Harry was having breakfast and his mind was constantly thinking of Loraine and their meeting in the afternoon, he didn´t know why but he wanted to see her again and soon, perhaps it was because she was beautiful and sexy; with a shake of his head he went upstairs to his bedroom and started his study. The morning pass really quickly and he was satisfied because he was really making good progress, he knew that at some point over the years he had learned all the spells in the books but he couldn't remember all of them and now when he was learning all of them again with a new purpose he was sure that he would remember forever, sure there were some spells that had no point in learning like how to transform a matchstick into a needle but the principle of it was to learn the basics of transfiguration so you would slowly develop your skills; there were also the spells that nobody will think are useful in a duel like the Wingadium Leviosa but he clearly remembered that a troll was defeated that way so he learned all of them, he didn't knew when but some of them might come a handicap in the future.

While practicing Potions, Harry also discovered that he could do the potions in the book, sure he was no Hermione Granger but without Snape in his back intimidating him and the peacefulness of his room he could concentrate enough to make the potions work; of course there were a lot of things that he didn't read from the books like the magical theory behind the spells or the potions, for him that was not necessary, instead he make sure he learned what they were useful for and the problems and disadvantages that some of them may have.

At 1.30 he went down to the kitchen where he found the ingredients for the lunch and a quick note from aunt Petunia that said which meal she wanted him to prepare, while he was making the meal he realized that Potions and cooking had some things in common like, that you had to wait until it had a certain temperature to add some ingredient or to add some stuff you had to chop it before, he never saw Potions like a type of cooking, he always saw it like chemistry, and that was a subject that while he was at the muggle school he really hated, that and with Snape yelling at him for even breathing a little bit too loudly the subject was hell, it really was a miracle that he had achieve an E in his OWLs. After eating he went to the park to meet Loraine, when he got there he saw she was sitting in the swing from yesterday; he approached "Hi, how are you?" he asked. "Good, thank you, how are you Harry?"

"I'm fine, a bit tired from studying all morning but well nonetheless" Harry answered.

"Studying?" Loraine asked with a puzzled question, Harry realized that he had spoken too much, he cursed himself "Yeah, I am checking the material I had from previous years of school, you see I have to…have to take my GCSEs because I was sick when everybody else took it last term" wow that is a pretty good lie Harry thought. And apparently Loraine bought it because she smiled and replied.

"Oh, so I suppose you are rather busy then" awkward silence between the two followed that statement, which Harry hated and decided to end it.

"You told me you study in the States right?" after her affirmative nod he continued "what and where do you study?"

"Well I study Publicity in the University of California Los Angeles" Loraine replied.

"Oh, that is great I think,…I mean if you really like it"

"Yeah I love it, you just have to know how to make people like the products you are offering which I found to be very easy, how about you Harry, where do you study?"

"Um, eh ,well I study in a school abroad called Hogwarts, it is not very known because it is a traditional school, you only get there if your parents have studied there before, or in some rare cases if one of the teachers follows your academy record through primary school and they decide that you can assist" well that wasn't a total lie Harry thought.

"Oh so you must be a genius then, I mean you going to that utterly secret school where only if you are genius are accepted" she said with a teasing smile.

"No! not at all, I mean I am not nothing special I got accepted because my parents went there, and the people that are accepted at the school don't have to be genius to be there, they just have to do something really extraordinaire to be consider special, so the school will have them" again Harry was amazed by the easy lies he was telling her, well this wasn't a lie, it was a half truth; fortunately she wasn't Hermione because she will immediately realized that Harry wasn't telling her the truth.

"Oh, well it sounds like a really secret school and a very important one, your parents must be proud" Loraine told Harry.

"I hope they are, I mean I don't live with them, they died in a car crash when I was 15 months old"

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that"

"No problem, you didn't knew"

"Well you know my father died too, when I was fifteen in an accident at his work" Loraine said.

"Oh, sorry" as soon as Harry ended the phrase, a laughter fill the air between them, and he looked at her really surprised. After a couple of minutes Loraine ended her laughter and looked at Harry and said.

"You, really are a cute guy Harry, you know that don't you. Less than a minute ago you told me not to worry about your dead parents because I didn't knew about it and after that, you are telling me you are sorry because of my dead father which you didn't knew anything about."

Harry gave her a sheepish grin in response

"As I said you really are a cute guy, of course you are as innocent as a teenage boy can be" Loraine said and after that she giggled.

"Well I'm not that young you know" Harry replied a bit irritated.

"Of course not, but you are what 15?"

Harry a little bit embarrassed answered "yeah, but I am going to be 16 really soon. How old are you?"

Loraine clearly amused said "you really don't know much about women do you? We don't like that anybody asks us our age."

"Oh, err, sorry about that"

"It's ok" and after that she looked at her watch and said "Ups, it's 4. 15, I guess you are late, you better get going"

"Oh, yeah" Harry stand up, but he didn't want to go, he wanted to continue talking to her "tomorrow same hour, here?"

"Absolutely, I enjoyed talking to you a lot, bye Harry"

"Bye" and with that Harry started walking back to number four.

When he arrived, he did his exercises, and before he started to study DADA, he made a new timetable, so he could spend more time with Loraine, which he really liked a lot.

5-6.30 Run/exercises

6.30-7 take a bath

7-7.30 breakfast

7.30-9.30 charms

9.30-11.30 transfiguration

11.30-1.30 potions

1.30-2.30 make lunch

2.30-3. lunch

3-5.30 spend time with Loraine

5.30-6 exercises

6-7 DADA

7-8 Herbology

8-9 care of magical creatures

9-9.30 dinner

9.30-11 occlumency

Well, certainly I won't stop studying and training, but I really want to talk to Loraine, it's refreshing, with her there is no Harry Potter the boy who lived, just Harry Potter a teenage boy as she put it, well with Hermione certainly it is just Harry but, she stills now I am the boy who lived, and she helps me with my problems, but with Loraine I am just an average teenage boy who doesn't have further responsibilities than to study.

Harry resumed his training, and after dinner, when he started with Occlumency, he passed the first chapter of the notebook from Dumbledore, because now he certainly felt at peace with his end of second year memory.

The new chapter explained that once you had no trouble being at peace with your memory, you had to try to erase any thoughts from your mind, to try to not think in anything at all. It also mentioned that this was the worst part in training Occlumency, that once you mastered this, the rest wouldn't be as troublemaker as this. The best suggestion professor Dumbledore gave Harry was to think in white, everything white.

So Harry started to try and think in white, a really big room with white walls, roof, and floor, which had no end and no really a beginning. This was really hard because after a couple of minutes Harry would think in Quidditch, his friends, the war, Sirius, Loraine, Hogwarts or anything; he continue trying until it was eleven, then he went to sleep.

The next morning was uneventful for Harry, with no complications, when he went to the park he waited a couple of minutes until Loraine came, after that they had an amazing and easy talk, when the 4 came and Loraine told Harry that he better get going he replied:

"Don't worry, I enjoy our talks too so, I adjusted my timetable so I can be with you until 5.30" when Loraine gave him a funny look he added with his face a crimson color and turning around so she couldn't see him "is that ok with you, you want that too?"

"égalementclairque je veux Harry, c'estfantastique"

"Um?"

Loraine giggled and said "of course I want that Harry, it is great"

"Great, that is great" and again Harry didn't knew what to say next.

"Dix-neuf" Loraine broke the silence.

"What?" Harry said.

"I am 19 years old Harry, you don't know any French do you?"

"Err, no, nothing at all"

"In your school, they don't teach other languages?" 'Yeah, ancient Runes' Harry thought, but instead replied "they do, it's just that I don't take those courses."

"Oh well then, we better change that, don't we?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I am going to teach you French"

"Oh sorry but not a chance, I am pretty busy with my study, and I don't want to interrupt it" Harry said.

"Oh, but we won't interrupt you, I will teach you in my home during our talks, what do you think? Please Harry, I would really like to practice a little bit of French, in the States I can't talk it too often, except with my mom when I speak with her on the telephone because she is in another city and here I have no one to talk to besides you" said Loraine while giving Harry a little smile that make him go crazy.

"Okay"

Loraine gave a squeal of happiness while she stood up, she extended her hand to Harry, who without a doubt but very nervous because of the contact with her took it, then she said "I think, we know pretty well this park, let's get a walk around here, and then I can show you the house where I am staying"

Harry led her through Private Drive carefully to not go beyond the wards, but when they were close to her house which was number 24, they spot Dudley and his gang.

"Hey Potter, who's the hottie that is with you, and why is with someone from San Brutus, clearly she is new, because she wouldn't be with you if she knew who you are" Piers yelled.

"What are they talking about?" Loraine asked.

"I will tell you but please can we go to your house, I really don't like to be near them"

"Ok" Loraine led Harry to the house, and when they were in the living room, she turned and looked expectantly at Harry.

"My cousin Dudley is the leader of that gang, you see I live with my aunt and uncle. My aunt was my sisters mom, but she didn't got accepted at Hogwarts and the two of them drifted apart little by little, until the point which my aunt practically hated my mother and father; and I guess that my uncle in a form of being supportive with her hated my parents too, they didn't have any contact between each other in years, until I was given to them because they are my only living relatives. They didn't treat me like my cousin, and they say to the neighbors that I am a teenage criminal and that I go to San Brutus a place for people like me that can't get along with the rest of the society"

"How bad did they treat you? That is why you use clothes that are way too big for you? They give the clothes from your cousin? Who I suppose was the fat one in the lead of that group?"

"Well yeah, I mean they give me these clothes, and I can't watch the telly and some other stuff, but since I am the rest of the year abroad I don't mind anymore"

"Oh, but that's horrible, and you don't have any other living relatives?" when Harry shook his head she continued "but what about, friends from your parents, godparents?"

At that Harry's heart sunk, and Loraine must have noticed because she said "are you okay Harry, what's the matter?"

"Sorry it just that, my godfather died about two months ago, I saw how he was murdered"

"Oh, I am so sorry Harry" Loraine gave him a gently hug which Harry was really grateful for.

"Thanks" Harry said after a couple of minutes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Loraine asked, Harry gave her a shook of head, and she didn't push the issue.

Then Harry saw the clock in the living room, it was 5.20 "I better get going, it's almost the time to go back to study he said.

"Ok, tomorrow come here at the same hour we meet in the park every day, we will begin the French lesson" Loraine said with a small smile. Harry nodded and with that he went to number four, to continue training.

When he finished lunch the next day Harry went to number 24, after he rang the bell Loraine appeared in the front door, she gave Harry a kiss on the cheek that make his face change into a deep red color "Come in Harry, there is a lot to do" and with that she grab him by the hand and led him to her room. When he entered he noticed the room was bigger than his own, and was painted in sky blue.

Very soon Loraine begun to explain Harry things in French starting with the very basics, like good morning was 'bonjour' and my name is Harry Potter 'j'm apelle Harry Potter', Harry listened to her carefully, because he didn't want to make her efforts in vain, but it was a hard battle against the beautiful view he had, Loraine was using a tiny blue skirt, and had one leg crossed over the other so he had full view of her amazing legs, and a light blue tank top with a V-neck that make Harry see a part of her perfectly form breasts and while she was explaining things to him he saw her full lips that had red lipstick, he wonder how it would be to kiss her, to touch her body…with a shake of his head he regain control on himself, and paid attention again.

After an hour and a half, Loraine decided that it was enough and with that they went for a walk around the neighborhood to buy some ice cream. When they were returning Loraine said "Harry can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"How is that you saw you godfather being murdered?"

Harry froze in his tracks that was a too personal question, he didn't really wanted to talk about it, he wasn't over the fact that Sirius was dead because of him, let alone ready to talk about the circumstances of his dead with anybody, especially with a muggle.

"Sorry, I know you don't want to talk about it, but you have to understand that the more time you try to deny the fact that he is dead it is going to be worse for you." Loraine said.

Harry didn't reply so she continued.

"Listen Harry, it is ok to miss our loved ones, because they won't be with us anymore but if we do love them we have to continue with our lives and live them fully so we won't have any regrets and they won't feel bad when they see us again in the afterlife, because if we don't and we can't be happy with ourselves and we waste to much time feeling the loss they will blame themselves"

"It's just that … it's complicated" Harry replied.

"Well I will tell you something, ok. For years I felt bad about the death of my dad, I told you he died in an accident at work, but what I didn't told you is that he was doing additional work hours, because I wanted a car for when I turned 16 but he didn't have the money for buying it for me, one day he told me that, and being the spoiled teenage daughter I was, I demanded him to buy me one. So my father started to do night shifts at his work, and less than a couple of weeks later there was an accident in the factory where he worked and he died, his last word to me where : 'be a nice woman and live your life fully, be happy because I am, and sorry I couldn't buy you that car princess'"

Harry noticed that Loraine had a sad smile, he started to say "I'm.." but was cut by Loraine who said with a small amuse smile "don't say you are sorry, ok, I know it is a sad story, I was depressed for a couple of years until my mother got a job in Seattle and with her help I realized that it wasn't my fault, my dad wanted to buy me that car, yes I was spoiled girl, but my dad could have told me that he wasn't going to buy me anything, but instead he started to work more. You are a good guy Harry, and I don't want you to be too depressed about your godfather´s death you will miss your life otherwise like I did. Whoops it's late for you so I better get going" she gave him a kiss on the cheek and said "tomorrow don't be late, bye" and with that she went to her home.

Harry was dumbstruck, in a way she and Harry had a similar story their actions accidentally caused the death of someone who they loved, he slowly started to go to number four when he entered the house he seriously doubted that he could release the thoughts of Sirius death and the conversation with Loraine; but after doing his exercises his mind was without those thoughts, he followed his timetable and at eleven he went to sleep.

The next day after his training he went to Loraine´s house but when the door opened he was greeted by an older woman, probably in her mid-forties

"Hi, you must be Harry. Loraine has talked a lot about you come in" she said.

"Hi mam, yes I am Harry Potter I suppose you are Loraine´s mother?"

"Qui, my name is Josephine" the women said

"It´s a pleasure to meet you" Harry replied.

"Oh lala such a polite young man, I am happy that my Loraine has found someone she can spend her time while we are here, I am afraid that William and I don´t spend too much time here; we usually go to town to try to organize William´s legal issues here, and to try to sell the house"

"Oh, I can understand that, I am glad I could met Loraine, she´s very pretty and I like to spend time with her" Harry said, but after a second he realized what he had said and blushed deeply.

Loraine´s mother just laughed and told Harry to go to Loraine´s bedroom that she was waiting for him. When he arrived Harry found that the door was not completely closed so he assumed that it was ok to enter, but as soon as he entered the room he took a great surprise; there was Loraine completely naked checking what outfit she would put today in her wardrobe. Harry´s heart was about to break out from his chest, and suddenly breathing was really hard for him. Loraine was now certainly the very first women he had ever saw naked and boy he really liked the view, she was out stunning, really sexy with great curves.

Suddenly as if sensing that someone was looking at her Loraine turned around and saw Harry standing there checking her out; it was summer but Harry thought that the temperature had risen really fast and probably 20 degrees, he supposed that now his face was the best shape of red that anyone had seen before, certainly he was now even redder than any Weasley had ever been.

He was really frightened, probably Loraine was going to scream at him for this and he would lose the friendship that he had with her, but then a thought came to his mind, the reason behind being friends with her besides she being a nice person was because in the back of his mind he wanted to be with her, those were the initial thoughts he had when he first met her and probably what he had just witnessed was the best that could have happened to him, Loraine was way too beautiful, and 3 years older there was simply no chance she would be interested in Harry in a romantical way. And if by some miracle of destiny she was interested in him, what could be their relationship, Harry was a wizard she a muggle. Before even thinking about having a future with her, first he had to get rid of Voldemort and he seriously doubted that he would live to tell the tale, besides she was going to live in the States and him, well he really didn´t knew where. Other part of the problem was that what he felt for her was friendship, but the attraction he had for her was mainly lust, yes she was a nice girl but they didn´t have too many things in common and for Harry the base of a relationship was trust.

Loraine cleared her throat and Harry was removed from his thoughts, "Hi Harry, do you like what you see?" she said.

Harry didn´t knew how to answer that, what was he supposed to say ´Yeah, I really like it a lot 'or ´more or less´; she would think that he was a pervert or she might take it as an insult or even think Harry was gay!

Seeing that Harry didn´t respond she close the space between them and after giving him a kiss on the cheek and smiling seductively she said "Well?"

"Um, yeah, yeah" was the only think that Harry could mumble, Harry felt that all the blood that he had in his head suddenly went down his body beneath his stomach, alarmed he quickly added "So-sorry, I will wait outside for you to put your clothes on, just give me a call when you are ready" and with that he went out from there and directly into the nearest bathroom to pour cold water to his face and regain his senses, but he could clearly heard Loraine´s laughter.

When Loraine called him he went to the room, she told Harry that it was okay, that he really didn´t have to be embarrassed, that she wasn't and that she was glad that he thought that she was pretty. They resume the French lessons and after the hour and a half of studying they went for a walk, deciding that since she shared some memories of her with her father, he started sharing good moments of his time with Sirius carefully avoiding the parts that had to do with magic, and from then on the conversation was entertaining for both of them while they shared memories with each other, Harry from Sirius and Loraine from her father.

When the time to sleep came for Harry that night he realized that although he wouldn´t forget Sirius, talking about him with Loraine help a lot, still he had a lot of guilt, regret, and sadness for his godfather´s death but with time and the help from Loraine he would heal.

**A/N: Again sorry for the delay, but I had to travel unexpectedly with my family during my holiday, anyway I promise I will post the next chapter in 3 days, I hope this chapter liked you guys. If some of the French is bad written please forgive me, it´s just that I don´t know any French at all and I put the first thing that appear in the google translator. Please R&R and tell me your opinions of this story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters or the fantasy world created in this story, I just used the fantastic mind of JKR to make my own version of it.

**Chapter 5: Healing and fun times. **

Next morning while he was studying Transfiguration Harry received a letter from Ron and Hermione.

_Dear Harry,_

_I am sad because you haven´t written to us, I was hoping that you would, but I realized that we didn´t write a letter to you either so I guess it is our fault too, please write to us I promise we will write to you more often but I don´t like the lack of communication between us, we´ve been friends for five years now and I don´t like when we are apart. _

_Anyway here at the burrow Ron and Ginny are always playing Quidditch and they even made me play! I was so scared and I really suck at it, but as Ron want to play keeper again this year he made me help him practice, aside from that the summer is smooth I have been reading and just hanging out with them near the Burrow. Please tell me your summer so far is ok, I´ll hate it if you are in pain because you have to stay the hole summer in a house that you are not welcome. Ron and I told Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to talk to Dumbledore about moving you here at some near point in the future but he said he had his reasons and that you should stay there, I really don´t understand why, by any chance do you? Because if you do please explain me as I see no reason for that decision._

_Write to us soon please._

_Love, _

_Hermione and Ron._

After reading the letter Harry realized that although it was addressed from both of them it was clear that the one that had wrote it was Hermione which make Harry grateful because she was always caring for him and his wealthbeing.

Harry decided that he would send a reply, unfortunately he still couldn´t tell them about the prophecy, or that he was training because of it, he would tell them in due time at the start of term but before that all of this should remain a secret.

_Dear Hermione and Ron,_

_My summer so far is ok, I am trying to keep me busy so I usually go for a run around the neighborhood in the mornings, also I help here sometimes in my uncle´s house with cooking or gardening and in the afternoons I go to the nearest park and stay there for a while._

_I am sorry I didn´t wrote you earlier but as you must see there´s nothing exciting I can tell you guys. I hope you are having fun, I know that I am not, but the summer is not as awful as others. Thanks for trying to convince Dumbledore about my summer accommodations but I know he won´t change his mind and I also know why but I can´t tell you in a letter so next time we see each other I promise I will._

_Take care, _

_Harry_

After checking the letter a couple of times Harry decided that it was ok to send it with Hedwig, in the letter again he didn´t tell them the truth about things but also he establish that his summer wasn´t as horrible as they thought, he just hope that it would calm them, specially Hermione.

The next couple of weeks passed very quickly until it was his birthday, that day he received some gifts from his friends, and by a note from Remus he learned that Mr. Ollivander was kidnapped, which make him wonder what Voldemort wanted from the wand maker. The rest of the day passed quickly and after they ended their French session Loraine pointed out his new watch and Harry replied that it was a birthday gift he had received.

"When was your birthday Harry?" she asked.

"Well, actually it is today" he replied.

"What! And you didn´t tell me?"

"So-sorry Loraine but I don't give too much importance to my birthday, that's why I didn´t told you" Harry said.

"But why, I mean every birthday is important. And I don´t have a gift for you! I am such a terrible friend. It´s not ok to not tell things like that to your friends Harry. _Cette merde_"

Harry didn´t know what was the meaning of that last sentence but he suspected that it was nothing good, so he tried to calm her down "It´s ok Loraine I don´t expect you to give me a present you company is as good as any other present" he finished with a blush.

Loraine cocked and eyebrow and more calmly said "Ok, I guess I overreacted, but I still want to give you a present" and after a couple of seconds of thinking she continue "close your eyes Harry"

"What? Why?" he replied.

"Because I am going to give you your present, now close your eyes" she said in a slightly exasperate tone. Harry did as she told him to, and after a moment he felt something crush against his lips, something soft that started to move slightly against them, soon Harry realized that it was Loraine´s lips on his and he started to respond to the kiss, but much too soon for Harry´s disappointment the kiss ended and when he opened his eyes he saw that Loraine had a little smirk on her face. "So how was your birthday present?"

Harry still a little dazed because of the action, said "good", but he realized that it wasn´t a good thing to say to any girl after they kissed and he was going to apologize but then he saw that she had an amused expression on her face.

"You haven't kissed a lot have you?" she said.

Harry remembering that he had only kissed a girl once and in that occasion it was a strange kiss in an awkward situation he replied with honesty but a little ashamed "Just once before now, and it was a little bit awkward"

"Well then, I suppose that we have to keep practicing it, not that you are a bad kisser, but I think that some practice will come in handy"

Harry had barely time to process what she just said before she started kissing him again and this time he responded with eagerness, while he was kissing her he thought that this was far better than the time he had kissed Cho, for one Lorain clearly was a better kisser than her, and secondly she wasn´t crying which made the experience unforgettable in a hole different way.

The next couple of weeks, Harry fall in a routine; with the help of the notebook of Occlumency from Dumbledore he was getting better at it, now he had mastered the part of putting his mind in white, and was slowly constructing his defenses like the book said while imagining a big wall for this would help a lot, so he imagined one wall from Hogwarts with no beginning and no end, but in order for this to be effective it had to be a very solid wall, he had to imagine every detail he could, so he practice with his soul to prevent another scenario like the one with Sirius. This notebook was way better than the book he had received from Dumbledore the last year, this was more personal, clearly it was maybe only for Harry to use it, while the other was a more general one with a lot of description of the art and the effects it could have in the mind of the person who was attacked this one was directe to the point with practical exercises so Harry improved really fast.

In his study session Harry was covering the last part of his fourth year books. In Charms he was certain that he knew all of them, with the correct wand movement and what they were useful for, there were a great number of them that were not intended to be use in a duel, but as Harry promised he studied all of them. Transfiguration, was a subject that while Harry studied it, realized that all of the exercises that they had done in the past were only for the students to develop the proper instruction to the more difficult of them such as Human transfiguration or objects into moving things such as animals which was the sort of stuff that he was interested in, because that was what he could use in a duel, he could transform things into weapons and also some other things into animals in order to attack his opponents. In DADA, he already had finished with his books until fifth year, but the last one was practically a joke as it was a book that Umbridge chose and wasn´t useful at all, but he continued with his studying with a couple of books that Sirius and Remus had given him last Christmas, and where he found a couple of spells that he didn´t knew, but most importantly it describe different methods to battle against different type of courses, and the effective counter course if there was one. With Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures Harry just make sure he remembered all the stuff because it was just the theory that he had studied, but his improve in Occlumency, Harry realized had helped him have a better memory and organize better his mind so studying those subjects was rather easy for him, a little bore but nonetheless a precaution that had to be taken.

Harry realized that with his morning exercises he was no longer as scrawny as he was before, he also had found a couple of old dumbbells from Dudley and he had started practicing some exercises he had seen his cousin do to improve at boxing so this way he would gain a little muscle in his biceps, triceps and shoulders; he was now capable of running faster and resist longer time than when he started in the summer.

Potions was a subject that Harry was pleased he had begun to study, because now he could make all of them with small amount of difficulty, but he also realized that because of his laziness he hadn´t achieved his O in order for continuing his goal of becoming an auror, true Snape was a git with him, but he didn´t qualified the OWLs for students, if Harry would have checked his material after classes or in the weekends, he could have obtained the qualification he required; but again he decided he didn´t have to duel on that fact because he may lose that battle in his mind; this was something that Loraine had taught him, they spent a lot of time talking about Sirius and in the beginning Harry was reluctant to talk about his dead godfather, but now he could talk about him without feeling that knot that used to form in his gut, he still felt somehow guilty about his death but he instead focused on the good memories that they had shared rather than the bad ones.

His relationship with Loraine confused Harry, usually after their French sessions they would snog, and Harry was in a blissful state during and after that but he knew that although they were friends they lack the kind of connection that he thought that couples usually had, but instead they shared a desire for each other's body, specially him as they have had a couple of heated snogging sessions in her room and it had taken all Harry´s will power to not go further although he had the feeling that she wanted different from him. Loraine never mentioned that they were boyfriend and girlfriend and she didn´t give Harry the faintest hint of something like that, and he realized that it didn´t really matter to him, he completely understand that Loraine was his friend but not a candidate to be his girlfriend and he was ok with it besides their little what should he say ´romance? ´, 'affair? ´ , he didn't know how to name it, but it had an end and it would come with the end of the summer.

On the 15 of August after Loraine gave Harry his French lessons, she told him "Harry, how about if we go to the swimming pool that is near here, I do enjoy spending time with you but I figured we can do something else besides studying and walking around the neighborhood and eating ice-cream, I have gone there a couple of times in the mornings, but going alone is pretty boring, what do you say?"

Harry didn't knew what to answer, he really did want to go with her specially because he saw her early in the summer without clothes and the prospect of seeing her in a bikini was really appealing to him, but the pool was further than the wards that protected him in Little Whining were "I…I am not sure, I really have some more study to do, and the first of September is coming really fast and I have the exams a day before it, so I really don't know"

"Come on Harry please, I promise it will be fun" Loraine said with a suggesting look.

Harry sigh and ran a hand through his hair "tell you what, I will check on the progress I have make and I will let you know, ok?" he said.

Loraine beamed at him and replied "I hope you have make as quite as progress as we have make with your French lessons, you certainly have covered the basics of the language by now"

Harry gave her a small smile and said "well I have a really good teacher".

When he reach number four, Harry immediately grab some parchment and quill and sent a letter to Remus and Tonks as he trusted the two of them among all the Order members.

_Moony or/and Tonks_

_I know that I am asking too much here but could you please tell me when either of you having a shift on looking out for me, because I know you are still doing it. Please reply me really soon,_

_Harry_

He sent Hedwig with the note and told her to find the one that was closest, and when he approached the window to see her fly in the sky saw he was really surprised when suddenly not after a couple of yards Hedwig descended and went behind a bush. Harry soon realized that either Remus or Tonks were behind that bush, so he quickly went down and upon checking that no one was watching him he whispered, "Tonks, Remus are any of you there?" after a couple of seconds Tonks appeared, she was still looking pretty downcast and she greeted him "Wotcher Harry, what did you wanted to see me for?"

"Um, well actually I was kind of wanting to ask you or Remus a favor" Tonks gave him a look for him to go on so he continued "I am pretty sure you know I am friends with a muggle girl that lives near" after her affirmative nod he said "well, she kind of wants to go with me to the pool but it is out of the ward protection and I was wondering if by any chance you or Remus would want to escort me there, unnoticed of course"

Tonks thought it by a couple of seconds before she said "well, I will gladly do that favor, but I don't have another shift until the 28th, but Remus has one in 2 days maybe he can do it"

"Really? Will you please tell him, you know I can't write that on the letter as it is not safe"

"Yeah, I suppose I could" she said after thinking it a little bit, but Harry caught a grim face before it disappeared really quickly, "I will talk to him today, and I will tell him to send you a reply later or first thing in the morning" then she gave him an smirk, one that Harry hadn't seen in her face in a while and said "you really must be good friends with her if you are asking this, but I suppose you really are, given that you spend a lot of time everyday with her"

Harry blushed slightly before he said "well, we are good friends and we really don't know anybody here so we spend time together that way we won't get too bored" then he asked something that intrigued him "Dumbledore told me that the wards around here were bigger now, five blocks in every direction from my uncle's house, why are you guys still looking out for me?"

"Well, you see it is true that they cover more length, but the further they go the weaker they get, the only place that is practically 100% safe is your relatives house, so it is good to keep an eye on you just in case"

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense" he replied remembering that the wards were cast upon the blood from his mother that he shared with her aunt, and he supposed that it was stronger where his aunt was; then he remembered something that could be useful for him in the future "Tonks, do aurors have a book on some curses and jinxing while they train, I mean I suppose that you learn a lot more stuff than a regular student learns at Hogwarts as you train for three years to become one"

She gave Harry a small smile and said "well, yes we do as you know training for 3 years and we are given just one book that will help us for the three years and it contains curses, jinxes, and charms that we will need in the job, some of them you might find in other books but it is pretty hard and I guarantee that you won't find them all, but we not only learn new spells, we also learn to identify better the potions, and to prepare antidotes to the stronger ones really fast, we train physically and in different tactics of group battle, interrogating and tracking" Harry realized that aurors not were only the police version of wizards but they also were sort of detectives which make Harry both more impressed and more downcast at the lost possibility of becoming one himself, Tonks interrupted his thoughts "why do you ask Harry?"

"Well, I…you know I am pretty good at defense" after she gave him a nod he continued "well I was wondering if you could get me one of those books, you see I am pretty sure that I know practically all the spells that I will learn in Hogwarts and I would really like to learn more"

"I don't know Harry, those books can't reach the public eye, it is a decree from the Ministry, it could become very dangerous if everybody knew in what are we trained" but when she saw Harry's downcast look she added "if you promise me that nobody and I mean nobody apart from you will see the book I will lend you mine, as I can't make a magical copy because it is protected by charms"

Harry beamed at her and said "really? That's great Tonks, I really appreciate it"

She pated him in the shoulder and said "if I am not in the group that will escort you to the Burrow or Hogwarts, I will sent it to you with someone in a charm box and you will just have to say the password which will be…um…ok, I got it now, it will be Loraine" the last part was said with a smile. Harry looked a little bit terrified that she knew that name and she added "don't be surprise, I was hidden here one time you passed walking with her and you said her name"

"Okay, again thanks Tonks for telling Remus and the book, I hope I can see you at the end of the summer, bye" and with that he went to number four to continue with his lessons.

Next morning, when he came from running he found Hedwig with a letter attached to her leg, and then he immediately retreat the letter and begun to read it

_Dear Harry,_

_I think that it is good you actually ask help and permission to go beyond the wards, so I will aid you, but no one else should know besides Tonks, you and me because we might get into trouble. Tomorrow I will have my shift so you would be able to go swimming with that precious friend of yours. _

_Keeping an eye on you,_

_Remus_

Harry chuckled silently with the way Remus ended the letter; when he was at Loraine's house and he told her that tomorrow they could go to the swimming pool she beamed at him and hug him "great! Thanks a lot Harry; I was pretty bored in the mornings"

The next day Harry was nervous for two reason the first one was that although he really liked the idea of watching Loraine practically nude it was something that make him pale a bit and the second one was that he was wondering if she would find Harry's body attractive, he knew that he was rather thin but he was beginning to sharp his muscles from all his training, he even had a little of the six pack, it wasn't as noticeable as others but still it was there, he silently kept wondering those thoughts.

Finally they went to the pool, and after he changed into his swimming suit, he waited for Loraine to appear and when he saw her, his jaw almost hit the floor, she was wearing a black, tight and really short bikini which make his mind go crazy with thoughts he was sure he should be ashamed of having.

Upon seeing his expression Loraine giggled and said "let's go I am really hot and seeing you in just shorts doesn't help either. I am sure the water is just what we need right now" and without waiting for a response she went into the water, Harry followed her and although he wasn't a really good swimmer they spent a good time there, after an hour they excited the pool and rested in some near chairs where they left their bags.

They were chatting and having a quiet and peaceful time when Dudley and his gang appeared, they quickly looked at them and he said "what are you doing here freak?" Harry supposed that Dudley was trying to be brave in front of his friends, so he didn't replied anything then Piers said to Loraine "I don't know what are you doing with him, when you can be with someone you deserve, a real man"

Loraine smirked and seeing Piers in the eye she replied "and I suppose a real man would be you or any of your friends?" she didn't wait for their reply as she said "does any of you by some rare chance of destiny has kissed a girl?" when they looked at her with a little surprise and fear but trying to be as cocky as possible she continued "I supposed you haven't, then I don't see why you are better men than Harry. In all ways he is far better man than any of you will ever be, plus he is a really good kisser too" after that statement Harry blushed.

"Oh yeah, for your information we have kissed a lot of girls and they go crazy about us" Dudley said, but without much conviction.

"Really, then where they are, I mean if they really are all over you surely they must have come with you"

"Well…well they couldn't come okay, besides we know what you said about the freak is not true there's no way possible that any girl would want to kiss him"

"Really? " Loraine asked and not waiting for an answer she said "then I suppose you should look at this" and with no further delayed she gave Harry one of the best snogs he had ever received. After a couple of minutes they stopped and much to Harry's delight Dudley's gang was out of sight.

"Well, I couldn't have done it better" he said, and Loraine laughed at this, then he said "what about if we go into the water again?" she nodded and then they jumped to the pool. At the end of the day they parted ways, each one to his or her house with a smile on their faces.

When Harry arrived at his room he realized that he hadn't study anything that day, but he really didn't care because for the first time in his life, he had the perfect day in the muggle world, he forgot he was Harry Potter the wizard destined to save the world, and instead he was just a normal teenage boy that had fun with his female friend that day, with those thoughts he slowly went to sleep.

**A/N: I wanted to post yesterday but I had some minor problems with my connection to internet so I wasn't able to. Anyway there is only one more chapter to the end of the summer, and then Harry will go to Hogwarts, as I say I am following canon, but there will be slight changes in the other characters developments but significance changes regarding Harry and his power. Please R&R and give me your opinions on this story thus far.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters or the fantasy world created in this story, I just used the fantastic mind of JKR to make my own version of it.

**Chapter 6: The End of the summer, welcome back Harry Potter.**

The day after they spent at the swimming pool, Harry begun with his fifth year books, these he supposed were rather easy as it has passed little time since the last time he had read them. There were 15 days left until Dumbledore or someone from the Order will collect him to go to the burrow and he had to learn everything by that time.

The first week passed really quickly, and Harry realized that he had covered a bit further than the half of them, he was certain that he would make it before his dead line. On Sunday while they were at the park Loraine asked "when do you start school Harry?" "The first of September, but I will leave on the 31 of August in order to go to a friend's house, so we can go as a group to school; when do you leave?" he replied.

"Oh, well I will travel the second and my classes start the first Monday of September, so it will be the fourth or the fifth I think" Loraine said. After that, they stayed in an uncomfortable silence, it wasn't awkward, but it was sort of grim.

"It is a pity isn't it" Loraine suddenly said.

"What is?"

"The end of the summer of course! I mean when I came here I imagined that I was going to get really bored, but then I met you and we befriend really quickly and although this vacation was nothing like I am use to have, which is going to parties with my friends very often, the peace and the routine that I found here with you was great"

"Well, this was a great summer for me to, I just thought I will have to study and I was willing to, but you saved me from being overloaded with work, even with the French lessons I had fun and it was kind of relaxing. But we knew, didn't we? We knew this was going to end with the summer" Harry said.

"Yes of course we knew, and although I am happy to return to my life, to my dreams I will miss this place and I will miss you"

"Me too, this summer I felt really well, as you say at peace and relax with you" _and I felt normal_ Harry thought.

"Harry promise me something" after his nod she continue "the 30 we will have the day just for us, the two of us all day"

This was something unexpected, but again Loraine was a good friend, she wasn't as close as Hermione and Ron, not even Ginny, Neville and Luna; but she was a good friend and the fact that he felt an attraction to her had his mind more appealing in spending the day with her, besides he was certain that he wouldn't see her ever again in his life, one day before they parted ways was the best he could have, and he was going to have it "of course" he finally said.

"You know, I really don't know the truth behind Sirius death, but for the looks of it now you can handle the fact that he is dead, but I also noticed that you look guilty whenever you talk about him as if you have done something in order for him to get kill" Harry panicked after she said this, and she must have noticed because she added "look, if you don't want to tell me, it's fine, everybody has his secrets, but you have to think about it really carefully because it won't be tomorrow, not even in a year but eventually the guilt might eat you alive, think about the facts that conduct him to his death and even if you are somehow guilty of it you should forgive yourself because this is not what he would have wanted for you. Long ago I accepted the fact that it was my father's choice of working that led him to his death but I am guilty too because in a way I forced him to do what he did but I forgave myself, I was a teenager and I didn't thought mature enough, besides if I had been in his position probably I would have done the same he did, I would have work for keeping my children happy. Just think about it" she gave him a kiss on the cheek and she left.

That night Harry didn't study and thought furiously of the facts that led Sirius to his death, and in the end he found several people were guilty of it, yes Harry was guilty in a small portion, if he would have checked the mirror Sirius gave him before, he would have probably avoid the whole situation, but he wasn't guilty for going to the Ministry, that was Snape's fault, if the greasy git would have properly taught him Occlumency he wouldn't have had that vision. Harry did intended to save his godfather even if Hermione was right, she had no way of knowing what he saw in his mind, she simply couldn't understand; and before the visions or dreams were always right so there was no way for him to suspect it was different this time. Furthermore Snape didn't really help him when he told him about the problem, he could have but instead he treated Harry with disdain as always which led Harry to think he didn't care, which probably was true.

Another person guilty besides him and Snape was Dumbledore, heck the entire Order was, they kept him in the dark, if they would have told him of the prophecy he would have suspected that something was off. Kreacher was guilty as well, because of what he said to Harry and led him to believe that Sirius was kidnapped. And finally Sirius was guilty too, because when he was dueling Bellatrix he was cocky and was a bit distracted when he should have been focused 100% on what he was doing.

But Harry realized that all people were innocent as well, he was innocent because he wanted to save someone very dear to him and he was left with no other choice; the Order and Dumbledore innocent as well, they kept him in the dark because they wanted to protect him, yes Harry would have wanted they didn't did that but he could understand them; Snape wasn't innocent he thought, but again the professor Harry was sure wouldn't have killed Sirius, not in that way at least, maybe in a duel, but not like that, and after what he saw in Snape's pensive he understoodd the hatred that Snape had for Sirius and his father if he was treated that way in more opportunities. Kreacher said those things to Harry because he wasn't his master at that time, and he hated everyone so he did what he thought was the right thing to do in his twisted mind. Of course Harry still hated both of them Snape and Kreacher, because of the way they were, but now everything was in his place, it wasn't his fault, it was Voldemort's plan and all of them played their parts perfectly well in it, it was a chain of actions that lead to that sensible loss, but every part that took place in it was expected to react the way they did, sure Voldemort's plan wasn't killing Sirius but the whole scenario was what led to it.

Finally the 30 of August arrived; Harry had finished two days prior his study in Charms, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, DADA; and yesterday Potions and Transfigurations, he had finished the exercises of Occlumency too, now he could have a solid and a clear wall in his mind almost absently, he noticed too that when he wanted his face could become unreadable or that is what he thought; before, when he was angry people could notice immediately as well as when he was happy, now if he wanted he could conceal his facial features really quick.

After his morning exercises Harry, grab his swimming suit, he still couldn't believe that he was going to the pool again without permission from the Order, well maybe he would be lucky and Mundungus would be watching over him today, or maybe they would just follow him, after all the swimming pool wasn't that far from the wards.

When he reached Loraine's house they had breakfast, played Monopoly, and then they went to the pool; certainly Harry was lucky, nobody stop him and he had fun again with her because they carried a beach ball to play with, again Harry occasionally was daydreaming with her, but now he could put a façade face thanks to his Occlumency training. After that they returned to her house, where they had lunch with her mother and William, just before both of them went to some of William's relative'scottage to spend the next two days there. After that Harry and Lorraine went for a walk around the neighborhood, and when they returned they watch a movie; when it finished Loraine got up from the couch and said "I know, this is highly inappropriate, I mean what I want is…" she walked to the kitchen and she came back with a small bottle with a sherry color liquid in it "this is whisky and I know it is a bad thing to offer this to a minor but, I thought that if we stay here it would be alright, I mean if you don't want to it is okay, but if you do then…"

Harry was thinking furiously, Loraine wanted to drink with him, until now he had only drank butterbeer, and firewhisky once, but it was because Sirius gave him a small glass, but she wanted to drink a hole bottle, what could he do. "Look Harry I know you probably haven't taste alcohol yet, but it is just a suggestion, I repeat if you don't want to we won't but I thought it could be fun, I thought we could do something we haven't' until now" Loraine said interrupting him from his thoughts.

"Okay" it was all he said. Loraine squealed and gave him a glass with ice, she filled it and her own and said "let's taste for a wonderful summer"

"For my best summer holiday here" Harry said and with that they drank the liquid. It certainly burnet his throat, not as the firewhisky, but still it burnt but Harry also liked the sensation. Loraine refilled the glasses and this time Harry said "for your father" and they drank it again, the next round Loraine toast for Harry's parents and Sirius, but after that round she added "we really should slow down, at this pace we will be completely drunk in a couple of more rounds", and with that they talked about trivial things while they were slowly drinking until it was 9 or so; Harry thought, that certainly he was drunk Loraine noticed and said "well I didn't expect you to resist this far you know, for your first time drinking I mean, come on you need to sleep and certainly we don't want you walking on the street in that condition so come on" and with that she drag him to her room, she put him over the bed and exited the room, Harry was slowly drifting to sleep. **(A/N: If you are not 18 or older don't read this part) **but suddenly Loraine came back with a bath rope over her, Harry leaned on his elbows and said "what is it?"

Loraine just gave him a seductive smile and let the rope fall from her. In front of Harry was a gorgeous woman, with a spectacular body in black lingerie, suddenly Harry was much more sober than a couple of seconds before. Loraine slowly approached the bed and said "so, do you want to do one more crazy thing today?" _why not, Merlin I think I wanted this since the beginning of the summer _Harry thought, and he slowly nodded. Loraine kissed him on the lips, slowly at first then it gradually became deeper and deeper when the seconds, minutes passed; and Harry's clothes started to disappear or that is what he thought, he began caressing Loraine's body and it felt as spectacular as it appeared in sight, soon they were both completely naked, Harry had an idea of what he was supposed to do but he really didn't knew how was he supposed to begin with it, maybe just do it or ask her first?

"It's okay, I will teach you how" she said, she put a condom on Harry's member and with that she drag him slowly into her where it was warm and wet; she told him to move and that is what he did, but after ten minutes Harry exploded, but Loraine didn't, he was mortified certainly he knew both of them were supposed to reach climax, he drag himself out of her and apologize "sorry, I didn't knew…I…so-sorry"

"It's okay, Harry, this thing happens to most men the first time, but if you promise to make it up to me first thing in the morning tomorrow then we have no problem" she said with a small smile.

Harry nodded, and then he felt all the alcohol, and exhaustion from what he just did come back with vengeance and he fell asleep.

"Harry, Harry, Harry wake up!" with that he opened his eyes and was looking at the ceiling, very quickly images from the last night came to his mind, and he felt fingers in his biceps that were slowly going up and down, he tuned slowly to his right and found the blue eyes of Loraine "well, at least a good morning would be appropriate" she said with a teasing smile.

"Hi" was all he said. He was really nervous, he didn't knew what to do, he also felt a headache probably from almost finishing an entire bottle of whisky the day before, upon glancing at the window he noticed it was probably 6 or 7 in the morning.

"Last night you told me to wake you up at 7 because, someone was going to pick you up at 8 in the morning in order to go to your friend's house, it is 7.15. From the look of your face I suppose you have a headache"

"Yeah, thank you, and I do, I have the headache"

"Well, certainly I know a way to make you feel better, and if I am not mistaken you promised me anyway we would do it again today" Loraine said.

Harry, thought furiously and then he remembered that before he fell asleep he promised Loraine they would have sex again, but the problem was that now he was more conscious of what was happening than yesterday night, now, although they weren't in contact except for her fingers in his arm he felt Loraine really close to him; suddenly he was nervous specially since the poor performance he had yesterday, it didn´t matter that Loraine said it was normal he still was disappointed on him.

"Relax Harry, you just have to let it go and enjoy the moment, this is not a test" she said, and after that she began to kiss him, he responded although he was still nervous, when the minutes passed he slowly began to relax, and the kisses were deeper, their tongues started a battle of some sorts. With a new find confidence Harry began touch Loraine´s body, first her legs then her plain stomach and finally her breasts one by one; she started to moan when he was touching her, he stopped kissing her in the lips and started to kiss her neck "Kiss my breasts" she said between moans and he did as told, much to his joy she let out louder moans "my nipples" he heard, and he licked them. One of Loraine´s hand grab one of his and guide it to her spot between her legs, where it was soft and wet "touch me there, gentle" once again Harry complied, enjoying this too much he realized that his erection was getting harder and harder within the minutes, he didn´t know why but he slid one of his fingers inside of her when she arched her back he knew that he had done the right thing "one more" and he did as told, her moans of pleasure were harder and this time he did felt proud of what he was doing "rub my clitoris with your thumb" she managed to say and Harry did as he was directed to. After a couple of minutes Harry didn´t knew how long Loraine put a hand over his and said in a husky voice "I need you inside me now Harry"; he only nodded and pull his fingers out, once again Lorain put a condom over his penis, looking him in the eye she said "do it slowly, it will help to control yourself" Harry didn´t need more so he slowly put his member inside of her, and the sensation was far better than he could remember from yesterday, perhaps it was due to the alcohol he drank, but slowly and with rhythm he began to move forward and back, putting his face on the crook of Loraine´s neck he felt her shiver and she started to say his name with lust, and a husky voice. He didn´t knew how long it was but he started to feel that he was about to finish, panicked he moved his face from her neck "it´s okay, I am almost done too" she forced herself to say. Relieved Harry started to move faster and faster, Loraine´s moans were even louder and after a couple of minutes he felt the wonderful sensation of an orgasm, much to his relief he also felt Loraine´s legs tighten around his waist at the same time that she shouted her name and somehow he knew she had reach that condition too.

"That was great" he said.

"It was thrilling" she added.

After a couple of seconds he pulled away from her, and he lay down at her side, Harry was ecstatic he managed Loraine to climax; he was truly a man now. _Wow! If only Sirius knew_ he thought. He watched the clock in the wall and saw that there were 2 minutes left to 8. "Damn" he said.

"What is it?"

"I have to go, it´s almost 8" he said while searching for his clothes.

"Oh right, I´ll go with you to your house" and they put their clothes together.

**(A/N: You can read again)**

They didn´t talk on the way to number four, each of them on their own thoughts. When they reach the door Harry said "well this is it"

"Yeah, it is"

"I am glad I met you" he added.

"Me too" Loraine said and gave him a hug "goodbye Harry Potter, my summer crush, my adventure while I was here, my summer love as some people in the States would say" she whispered in his ear.

"I suppose you are that for me too" he replied and chuckling lightly.

"Well yeah, but I really had a great time with you here. Above everything you are my friend, and I wish that one day in the future we will see again"

"I wish that too. Thank you"

"What for?"

"Well with you, I learnt a lot of things"

"I bet you did" she said teasing him.

Harry blushed slightly, but added "I don´t mean that, well I did learn that, but you helped me find peace with Sirius and everything and that is something that only people who have passed through the same can do; plus you taught me French"

"Well, you are welcome" she ended the hug and she said while watching him in the eyes "you do have the most amazing eyes that I have ever seen, it´s a pity that you have to use glasses, maybe you should try contacts"

"I don´t know, maybe I will"

Loraine grabbed him by the shoulders and closed the distance between them and kissed him with all her might, Harry responded the same way, it was a goodbye kiss; it will be very unlikely that they would see each other again and this was going to be the last contact between them. A couple of minutes later they ended the kiss due to lack of oxygen.

"Bye Harry" and with that she went home.

"Au revoir" Harry whisper while watching Lorain's retreating figure go to her house. During this time Harry´s thoughts were on how he had accomplished what he wanted all this time, while being with her he was an anonymous teenager, but he also knew that he hadn´t a future with her, firstly because he was a wizard, a wizard that was destined to fight Voldemort and secondly because although he had an attraction to Loraine, it was just an attraction for her body, they didn´t share some kind of bond that was necessary between couples. With that in mind and decided to fight Voldemort with all his might he entered number four.

"Bout time you came here" was the first thing he heard, the gruffly voice from Mad eye Moody.

"Hi Harry" the voice of Remus Lupin said from the living room.

Harry turned around and saw the two of them there with his uncle Vernon, aunt Petunia and Dudley. Mad eye and Remus were standing next to the window, which make Harry really nervous of what they might saw.

"Where were you boy?" uncle Vernon said, fear evident on his face, probably form seeing two of the people that threatened him before.

"I was with a friend, in her house" Harry answered.

"Girls, only cloud the mind of a wizard, make ´em weak if you ask me" mad eye grumble "well hurry up Potter we don´t have all day, you are late 10 minutes, thanks to you we have lost our portkey"

"Harry are your things ready?" Remus asked, after Harry´s affirmative nod he said "okay, then bring your things and we will leave now"

Harry did as he was told, when he entered his room he lifted Hedwig´s cage and freed her, "meet me at the Burrow girl" he said, he put his swimming suit in his trunk and went downstairs with all his things. There he found Mad-eye and Remus in the door waiting for him, with a quick "see you next summer" he went outside with Remus and Mad-eye. Remus shrank his things and put them in his pocket while they were walking "where are we going?" Harry asked.

"Well, we have to be outside of the wards in order to side-along apparate with you" Remus answered.

"Why? I mean I saw you early on the summer and you apparated in the doorstep, and when I was with Dumbledore we just walked a couple of blocks before apparating" Harry said while he rubbed his temple because of the headache from the hangover he had.

"Well we are not as powerful as Dumbledore and in order to side-along apparate someone we have to be out of the wards" Remus replied. "Are you okay Harry?" he added after he saw Harry rubbing his temple.

"Yeah" Harry mumbled, and Remus didn´t seem so sure but he let it passed.

When they reach their destination, Harry grabbed Remus arm and felt the uncomfortable sensation of apparition, one instant later he was near the burrow and Mad-eye was leading the walk a couple of feet ahead from him and Remus. The apparition made Harry´s sickness and headache worse, he felt terrible.

"Sirius and you father would be proud, you know" Remus whispered Harry.

"Uh?" was all Harry could reply.

"You beat them, you were with a girl after a month of your 16 birthday, you were with an older woman even, and they had to wait until they were almost 17 to do that at least that´s what they told me"

Harry blushed deeply after that, earning a chuckle from Remus

"But it was irresponsible" Remus added.

"What was?"

"Going further from the wards without telling anyone, you were lucky it was my shift again. I told Mad-eye that you befriended that girl and that you went early in the morning to say goodbye"

"Yeah, sorry it was sort of unexpected, thanks for covering me though" Harry said.

"No problem" Remus said the moment they reached the back door of the Burrow. Upon entering Harry saw everyone there sitting in the table with worried expressions while they were eating breakfast.

"Thank Merlin you are here, why did you miss the portkey" Mrs. Weasley said. Harry was about to answer but he felt a firm hug on his body and a mass of bushy hair covering his vision. "I was worried, I thought something might have happened to you" Hermione whispered "I am okay, sorry for worrying you" Harry said, he didn´t knew why but he felt great every time Hermione gave him a hug, it was way better than any other hug he received in his life.

"We wouldn´t have missed it but Potter was saying goodbye to his girl" Mad-eye said.

"What girl?" Ron asked, and this received the attention of everyone in the house, Hermione ended the hug and looked at Harry expectantly. Harry put all of his Occlumency training at work, he didn´t know why but he didn´t want anybody to know what had happened with Loraine, and made his face unreadable while he said "Loraine, a friend of mine that I met this summer, and she is not my girl" he looked at everyone and saw that they were searching the lie in his face, well they could continue looking all the time they wantedbecause he was sure than now nothing in his face would betray this statement.

"Didn't seem just a friend to me" Mad-eye muttered.

Everyone looked at him again and he saw the question in their eyes, Remus fortunately had his face neutral but Harry could see that the corners of his mouth were slightly twitching upside. Putting again his Occlumency training in practice he said "he was just my friend and she only gave me a goodbye hug" everybody again looked at his face for any sign that would indicate that he was lying but after a moment they just quit, probably because they couldn't find anything.

But the sickness that the whisky and the apparition sensation have caused him, make Harry want to throw up, so he hurried outside again and vomit all he could. He didn't notice the scowl that Hermione had on her face nor the little glare that she gave him.

"What´s wrong Harry dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Ar you alrig arry?" Fleur asked.

After he finished Harry turned around and replied "Yeah, it´s just that I felt a bit sick, I mean I am dizzy and I have a headache"

"Have you got any idea why?" Remus asked concern all over his face.

"I…um, well … yesterday I kind of have a lot of whisky with Loraine and I just had a little headache in the morning but with the apparition it got worse" Harry said.

"But of course you will feel sick! You are too young for even thinking about drinking, and if you have a hangover and you apparate afterwards then it gets worse" Mrs. Weasley scoffed.

Harry saw that Bill, Remus, Fleur and Ron had an amused expression on their faces while Mrs. Weasley was angry, Ginny was between amused and angry, but Hermione had an unreadable expression on her face.

"Well you will have to learn the lesson to not drink so I won´t make the sober spell on you young man" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Iz is nonzenze" Fleur said, and with that she pointed her wand at Harry and muttered a spell, instantly Harry felt relieved without pain in his head and dizziness.

"You shouldn´t have done that!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.

"Eesy Molly, wee don't ave to togtuge Arry with this if wee could relive him" Fleur countered.

Before Mrs. Weasley could say something Harry said "merci beaucoup Fleur j´ai vraiment besoin" everybody turned and saw Harry with astonishment in their faces.

"Harry since when do you know how to speak French?" Hermione asked.

"Loraine taught me, I only know the basics though" he replied.

"Oh lala, c´est magnifique Harry enfin j´ai quelqu´un á qui parler ma langue" Fleur interjected, and gave Harry a hug and a kiss on each of his cheeks.

"Qui Fleur, mais seulement un peu, pas beaucoup" Harry said feeling his cheeks burn.

"Enough of this, Harry come and have breakfast" Mrs. Weasley said, and motioned Harry to sit, then he gave him a plate full of food.

"I am off now" Mad-eye suddenly said, and without further indication he went out.

"Nous en parler plus sur Loraine, Harry" Fleur said.

"Enough of this, the rest of us can´t understand, please talk in English" Ginny said somehow angry.

"I was just telling Arry to talk about Loraine" Fleur repeated.

"Yeah, tell us about her mate, why we didn´t heard from her in the letters you sent us?" Ron said.

"Well, there´s nothing much to tell really" Harry said with his face again unreadable "she is from France, but lives in the States where she goes to college. She only went to Little Whining because her mother´s fiancé invited them. We befriended one day we were on the park, and began to chat in the afternoons, the last couple of weeks she taught me a bit of French"

"She´s a muggle? Why will you be friends with a muggle?" Ron said.

"Honestly Ron! What is wrong with you" Hermione snapped and without waiting for an answer she went upstairs.

"Ron! You don´t think before you talk do you?" Bill said.

"What?" he asked.

"Listen mate, muggles are people too, and I don´t see a problem being friends with them. You should apologize though, Hermione´s parents are muggles, with what you have just said you are implying that muggles aren´t worthy, so she took it as an offence"

"I didn´t meant that" Ron countered.

"I know, but it's the way it sounded" Harry said.

"Oh, well I'll talk to her later then" Ron said apologetic.

After that they chat about what was happening in the wizarding world, and. After saying his goodbye to Remus, Harry went to put his trunk in George and Fred´s room; then he headed to Hermione´s bedroom, he gently knocked the door and after he heard a "come in" he entered. She was sitting in his bed, and it was clear that she had cried a bit.

"Hey" he said.

"Hey" she replied.

"Listen, Ron didn´t meant it in that way, you know he doesn´t have anything against muggles"

"I know, I shouldn´t have snapped at him it´s just that I was a bit angry and with that comment I just lost it"

"It´s okay, any minute now he will come to apologize and you will be able to talk to him. But why were you angry?"

"I don´t know" she said. Harry knew this was a lie, and a stupid one for that one. Hermione saw his face and added.

"It´s just that I saw something in the morning, something that make me a bit angry and you missed the portkey and then Ron said that, I guess they were too much emotions for me" Harry nodded although he still saw something in Hermione's eyes that told him that this was not the whole story but maybe she just needed time. They stayed in a comfortable silence after that then Hermione said:

"So, you were really a good friend of this girl?"

"Yeah, she was a great friend" he replied smiling a little "make the summer much tolerable"

He saw that Hermione was searching for something in his eyes, and suddenly he thought she found it because her face went downcast a bit.

"But you are my best friend, you know that don't you? You will always be my best friend" he said, thinking that Hermione was having doubts regarding if she was his best friend between the two of them. For him there was no comparison Hermione knew the real Harry Potter, not just the wizard, but the boy that loved flying and playing Quidditch, the boy that was scared numerous times but had to face things most wizards and witches wouldn't have to in all of their lives.

Hermione smiled softly and said "of course I know that, I am you best friend, always" then she turned and looked at the window and whispered something that Harry couldn't clearly heard but he thought it sounded like "always your best friend".

The rest of the day, Harry went to play Quidditch with Ron, Ginny and Hermione; it was Hermione and him against the Weasley siblings. In the afternoon they discussed again the Malfoy issue but neither Hermione nor Ron gave him some credit. When dinner came and Harry was getting into the kitchen he bumped into Ginny, who was returning to her room carrying a pile of freshly laundered clothes.

"I wouldn't go in the kitchen just now," she warned him. "There's a lot of Phlegm around."

"I'll be careful not to slip in it." Harry smiled.

Sure enough, when he entered the kitchen it was to find Fleur sitting at the kitchen table, in full flow about plans for her wedding to Bill, while Mrs. Weasley kept watch over a pile of self-peeling sprouts, looking bad-tempered.

"... Bill and I 'ave almost decided on only two bridesmaids, Ginny and Gabrielle will look very sweet togezzer. I am theenking of dressing zem in pale gold, pink would of course be 'orrible with Ginny's 'air!"

"Ah, Harry!" said Mrs. Weasley loudly, cutting across Fleur's monologue. "Good, I wanted to explain about the security arrangements for the journey to Hogwarts tomorrow. We've got Ministry cars again and there will be Aurors waiting at the station."

"Is Tonks going to be there?" asked Harry, worried because Tonks promised him the book of spells in Auror training.

"No, I don't think so, she's been stationed somewhere else from what Arthur said."

"She has let 'erself go, zat Tonks," Fleur mused, examining her own stunning reflection in the back of a teaspoon. "A big mistake if you ask."

"Yes, thank you," said Mrs. Weasley tartly, cutting across Fleur again. "You'd better sit down Harry; dinner will be ready in a second."

He started to talk with Fleur in French so he could practice, and after ten minutes Ron, Hermione and Ginny came down for dinner too.

"Could you stop that, we are in England here we speak English not French" Ginny said.

"Hey, they can speak French if they want, Fleur might miss it" Ron countered clearly wanting to gain Fleur's favor.

Ginny was about to retort but then a knock on the door was heard "Who is it?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"It's me Tonks" Tonks said from the other side of the door.

When she opened the door Mrs. Weasley invited Tonks to enter the house and have dinner but she politely refused saying that she only needed to speak with Harry for a second, Harry went out with her, they walked a couple of seconds before they stopped.

"Here" she said and handed him a little box that easily fitted in his pocket.

"What's this?" he said with a puzzled expression.

"That box contains the book I promised you, the password is the one I told you, you just have to tap it with you wand while saying it; of course first you have to restore it to its original size"

"Great Tonks! Thank you very much" Harry beamed.

"No problem Harry, now a couple of things before I am gone. First of all, I remind you that nobody should see this book under any circumstances" he nodded.

"Good, secondly in that book are only the spells that the Ministry considers all Aurors should know to have the standard training, you won't find nasty courses as those are consider Dark Magic which of course we don't learn, also there aren't a lot of spells there but most of them are really tricky to learn, and maybe you may have learnt some of them because the spells on that book are collected from a variety of books, if you hadn't seen them or heard about them it's because the book from where they came from is very rare, ok?"

"Yes" Harry said.

"One more thing, that book only says how to cast the spells and what they might be useful for, but it doesn't go into much detail as the way to handle and use those spells properly comes within the training we receive"

"What other things you learn?" Harry asked intrigued.

"Well as I told you before, we learn tactics to fight with partners and groups from of 3 to 5; we also learn how to difference animagus forms, which is very tricky by the way; to identify and act faster to the most common potions use by dark wizards as well as the ones that can help us in the everyday work we have; we train physically to improve our resistance and reflexes, interrogating, tracking and some healing" Tonks replied.

"Wow" is all Harry could say, which make Tonks smile.

"Any questions?" she said.

"None" he replied. "Okay, see you in another occasion then, bye Harry" she turned around and after a couple of steps she disappeared. Harry went back to the kitchen, when he sat down Ron asked "what did she wanted?"

"She was just carrying a message from Dumbledore, not to get in trouble and stuff like that" Harry said dismissively and started eating.

After dinner Harry went to his room, before he went to sleep he arranged all his things in his trunk, and before he drifted to sleep he thought that the time to act had finally come, tomorrow he would return to Hogwarts and begun his real training, he wonder what things will Dumbledore teach him, and what spells he would learn from the Auror book he had, and how he would manage to accomplished all in a year while studying and playing Quidditch, because he had no other choice he had to learn and fast.

**A/N: Some people might be angry with what happened with Loraine, but she's left for good, I said I was following books canon and for me it seemed as Hermione's relationship with Harry was rotten in book six without an explanation, in this chapter I wanted to give that explanation as to why Hermione started to be angry at Harry and why she seemed to go after Ron with all her might forgetting more important things. From next chapter on we will see Harry training. Please R&R and give me your opinions so I can make this story better.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters or the fantasy world created in this story, I just used the fantastic mind of JKR to make my own version of it.

**Chapter 7: Settling everything to improve.**

Their departure the following morning was smoother than usual. The Ministry cars glided up to the front of the Burrow to find them waiting, trunks packed; Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, safely enclosed in his traveling basket; and Hedwig; Ron's owl, Pig-widgeon; and Ginny's new purple Pygmy Puff, Arnold, in cages.

"Au revoir, 'Arry," said Fleur throatily, kissing him good-bye. Ron hurried forward, looking hopeful, but Ginny stuck out her foot and Ron fell, sprawling in the dust at Fleur's feet. Furious, red-faced, and dirt-spattered, he hurried into the car without saying good-bye.

After that Harry realized that he had to endure two grim face aurors to escort him in the station, then when he wanted to warn Mr. Weasley about Malfoy he wasn´t listened which put him on the edge, because nobody truly believed him. During the train ride, he sat with Luna and Neville and put up with a girl named Romilda Vane in the compartment until they were both invited to the Slug Club which Harry hated. Then while he spied on Malfoy he got caught by him and if it wasn´t for Tonks probably nobody would have found him until he was in the station again.

Harry had really bad luck that day, because the message that Tonks sent with her patronus was intercepted by Snape, so he took 50 points from Gryffindor and make Harry embarrassed as he entered the great hall, which with its four long House tables and its staff table set at the top of the room was decorated as usual with floating candles that made the plates below glitter and glow. It was all a shimmering blur to Harry, however, who walked so fast that he was passing the Hufflepuff table before people really started to stare, and by the time they were standing up to get a good look at him, he had spotted Ron and Hermione, sped along the benches toward them, and forced his way in between them.

"Where've you — blimey, what've you done to your face?" said Ron, goggling at him along with everyone else in the vicinity. I

"Why, what's wrong with it?" said Harry, grabbing a spoon and squinting at his distorted reflection.

"You're covered in blood!" said Hermione. "Come here —"

She raised her wand, said "Tergeo!" and siphoned off the dried blood.

"Thanks," said Harry, feeling his now clean face. "How's my nose looking?

"Normal," said Hermoine anxiously. "Why shouldn't it? Harry, what happened? We've been terrified!"

"I'll tell you later," said Harry curtly. He was very conscious that Ginny, Neville, Dean, and Seamus were listening in; even Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had come floating along the bench to eavesdrop.

"But —" said Hermione.

"Not now, Hermione," said Harry, in a darkly significant voice. He hoped very much that they would all assume he had been involved in something heroic, preferably involving a couple of Death Eaters and a dementor. Of course, Malfoy would spread the story as wide as he could, but there was always a chance it wouldn't reach too many Gryffindor ears.

He reached across Ron for a couple of chicken legs and a handful of chips, but before he could take them they vanished, to be replaced with puddings.

"You missed the Sorting, anyway," said Hermione, as Ron dived for a large chocolate gateau.

"Hat say anything interesting?" asked Harry, taking a piece of treacle tart.

"More of the same, really . . . advising us all to unite in the face enemies, you know."

"Dumbledore mentioned Voldemort at all?"

"Not yet, but he always saves his proper speech for after the feast doesn't he? It can't be long now."

"Snape said Hagrid was late for the feast —"

"You've seen Snape? How come?" said Ron between frenzied mouthfuls of gateau.

"Bumped into him," said Harry evasively.

"Hagrid was only a few minutes late," said Hermione. "Look, he's waving at you, Harry."

Harry looked up at the staff table and grinned at Hagrid, who was indeed waving at him. Hagrid had never quite managed to comport himself with the dignity of Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House, the top of whose head came up to somewhere between Hagrid's elbow and shoulder as they were sitting side by side, and who was looking disapprovingly at this enthusiastic greeting. Harry was surprised to see the Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney, sitting on Hagrid's other side; she rarely left her tower room, and he had never seen her at the start-of-term feast before. She looked as odd as ever, glittering with beads and trailing shawls, her eyes magnified to enormous size by her spectacles. Having always considered her a bit of a fraud, Harry had been shocked to discover at the end of the previous term that it had been she who had made the prediction that caused Lord Voldemort to kill Harry's parents and attack Harry himself. The knowledge made him even less eager to find himself in her company, thankfully, this year he would be dropping Divination. Her great beacon like eyes swiveled in his direction; he hastily looked away toward the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy was miming the shattering of a nose to raucous laughter and applause. Harry dropped his gaze to his treacle tart, his insides burning again. What he would give to fight Malfoy one-on-one...

"So what did Professor Slughorn want?" Hermione asked.

"To know what really happened at the Ministry." said Harry.

"Him and everyone else here," sniffed Hermione. "People were interrogating us about it on the train, weren't they, Ron?"

"Yeah," said Ron. "All wanting to know if you really are 'the Chosen One' —"

"There has been much talk on that very subject even amongst the ghosts," interrupted Nearly Headless Nick, inclining his barely connected head toward Harry so that it wobbled dangerously on its ruff. "I am considered something of a Potter authority; it is widely known that we are friendly. I have assured the spirit community that I will not pester you for information, however. 'Harry Potter knows that he can confide in me with complete confidence,' I told them. 'I would rather die than betray his trust.'"

"That's not saying much, seeing as you're already dead," Ron observed.

"Once again, you show all the sensitivity of a blunt axe," said Nearly Headless Nick in affronted tones, and he rose into the air and glided back toward the far end of the Gryffindor table just as Dumbledore got to his feet at the staff table. The talk and laughter echoing around the Hall died away almost instantly.

"The very best of evenings to you!" he said, smiling broadly, his arms opened wide as though to embrace the whole room.

"What happened to his hand?" gasped Hermione.

She was not the only one who had noticed. Dumbledore's right hand was as blackened and dead-looking as it had been on the night he had come to fetch Harry from the Dursleys. Whispers it the room; Dumbledore, interpreting them correctly, merely smiled and shook his purple-and-gold sleeve over his injury.

"Nothing to worry about," he said airily. "Now ... to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you …"

"His hand was like that when I saw him over the summer,"

Harry whispered to Hermione. "I thought he'd have cured it by now, though ... or Madam Pomfrey would've done."

"It looks as if it's died," said Hermione, with a nauseated expression. "But there are some injuries you can't cure... old curses…and there are poisons without antidotes. . . ."

"…and Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to say that there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise. And for the house that is the champion of the Quidditch cup there will be a special award or opportunity, so I highly advice that you put your best effort this year" this was said with a special twinkle in his eye. Harry instantly wondered what it might be and so the rest of the students by the noise he heard; but he wasn't prepared for what came next.

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year, Professor Slughorn"— Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight, his big waist coated belly casting the table into shadow — "is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

"Potions?"

"Potions?"

The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered wheel they had heard right.

"Potions?" said Ron and Hermione together, turning to stare Harry. "But you said —"

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," said Dumbledore, raising voice so that it carried over all the muttering, "will be taking the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" said Harry, so loudly that many heads turned in his direction. He did not care; he was staring up at the staff table, incensed. How could Snape be given the Defense Against the Dark Arts job after all this time? Hadn't it been widely known for years that Dumbledore did not trust him to do it?

"But Harry, you said that Slughorn was going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts!" said Hermione.

"I thought he was!" said Harry, racking his brains to remember when Dumbledore had told him this, but now that he came to think of it, he was unable to recall Dumbledore ever telling him what Slughorn would be teaching.

Snape, who was sitting on Dumbledore's right, did not stand up his mention of his name; he merely raised a hand in lazy acknowledgment of the applause from the Slytherin table, yet Harry was sure he could detect a look of triumph on the features he loathed so much.

"Well, there's one good thing," he said savagely. "Snape'll be gone by the end of the year."

"What do you mean?" asked Ron.

"That job's jinxed. No one's lasted more than a year… Quirrell actually died doing it… Personally, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for another death…"

"Harry!" said Hermione, shocked and reproachful.

"He might just go back to teaching Potions at the end of the year," said Ron reasonably. "That Slughorn bloke might not want to stay long-term. Moody didn't."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were not the only ones who had been talking; the whole Hall had erupted in a buzz of conversation at the news that Snape had finally achieved his heart's desire. Seemingly oblivious to the sensational nature of the news he had just imparted, Dumbledore said nothing more about staff appointments, but waited a few seconds to ensure that the silence was absolute before continuing.

"Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength."

The silence seemed to tauten and strain as Dumbledore spoke. Harry glanced at Malfoy. Malfoy was not looking at Dumbledore, but making his fork hover in midair with his wand, as though he found the headmaster's words unworthy of his attention.

"I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that you teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them — in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of after hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others' safety."

Dumbledore's blue eyes swept over the students before he smiled once more.

"But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"

With the usual deafening scraping noise, the benches moved back and the hundreds of students began to file out of the Great Hall toward their dormitories. Harry, who was in no hurry at all to leave with the gawping crowd, nor to get near enough to Malfoy to allow him to retell the story of the nose-stamping, lagged behind, pretending to retie the lace on his trainer, allowing most of Gryffindors to draw ahead of him. Hermione had darted ahead to fulfill her prefect's duty of shepherding the first years, but Ron remained with Harry.

"What really happened to your nose?" he asked, once they were at the very back of the throng pressing out of the Hall, and out of earshot of anyone else.

Harry told him. It was a mark of the strength of their friendship that Ron did not laugh.

"I saw Malfoy miming something to do with a nose," he said darkly.

"Yeah, well, never mind that," said Harry bitterly. "Listen to what he was saying before he found out I was there…"

Harry had expected Ron to be stunned by Malfoy's boasts. With what Harry considered pure pigheadedness, however, Ron was unimpressed.

"I wonder what the special prize for winning the Quidditch cup will be" Ron said, but when he saw the exasperate face of Harry he realized his mistake and he said "come on, Harry, he was just showing off for Parkinson….

What kind of mission would You-Know-Who have given him?"

"How d'you know Voldemort doesn't need someone at Hogwarts? It wouldn't be the first —"

"I wish yeh'd stop sayin' tha name, Harry," said a reproachful voice behind them. Harry looked over his shoulder to see Hagtid shaking his head.

"Dumbledore uses that name," said Harry stubbornly

"Yeah, well, tha's Dumbledore, innit?" said Hagrid mysteriously.

"So how come yeh were late, Harry? I was worried."

"Got held up on the train," said Harry. "Why were you late?"

"I was with Grawp," said Hagrid happily. "Los' track o' the time. He's got a new home up in the mountains now, Dumbledore fixed it — nice big cave. He's much happier than he was in the forest. We were havin' a good chat."

"Really?" said Harry, taking care not to catch Ron's eye; the last time he had met Hagrid's half-brother, a vicious giant with a talent for ripping up trees by the roots, his vocabulary had comprised five words, two of which he was unable to pronounce properly.

"Oh yeah, he's really come on," said Hagrid proudly. "Yeh'll be amazed. I'm thinkin' o' trainin' him up as me assistant."

Ron snorted loudly, but managed to pass it off as a violent sneeze. They were now standing beside the oak front doors.

"Anyway, I'll see yeh tomorrow, firs' lesson's straight after lunch. Come early an' yeh can say hello ter Buck — I mean, Witherwings!"

Raising an arm in cheery farewell, he headed out of the doors into the darkness.

Harry and Ron looked at each other. Harry could tell that Ron was experiencing the same sinking feeling as himself.

"You're not taking Care of Magical Creatures, are you?"

Ron shook his head. "And you're not either, are you?"

Harry shook his head too.

"And Hermione," said Ron, "she's not, is she?"

Harry shook his head again. Exactly what Hagrid would say when he realized his three favorite students had given up his subject, he did not like to think.

Nearly at midnight and when Harry was sure his friends in his dorm were all asleep he got up and got out his cloak and the map and went on a quest, he wanted to have a place where he could practice all the things he had learn over the summer and learn the new spells that were in the book that Tonks had given him. When he was out of the fat lady portrait he started searching abandoned classrooms or places in where he could practice without being overheard but he couldn't find one which satisfied him plenty, he was ready to abandon the searching forty minutes later because he couldn't find the place he wanted; sure he found a couple of isolated classrooms but none of them had the size he wanted because he was sure that in the future he might be practicing some dangerous and powerful spells and for that he needed a big space, he was ready to return to his original plan of using the room of requirement which he had abandoned because now all the people of the DA and the ex inquisitorial squad knew of it and he didn't have the privacy there, then a thought passed through his mind the one that told him about the room of requirement maybe knew of other place that he could use and that would be Dobby, so he entered a class, took off his cloak and called Dobby. Instantly there was a pop.

"Hello Harry Potter sir! What can Dobby do to help great Harry Potter sir?!" asked the little creature.

"Hello Dobby" Harry said with a small smile for his awkward friend, whom was using two different socks as always. "I need to ask you a favor, my friend"

"Anything to help the great Harry Potter, Dobby will do sir"

"Thanks Dobby, I need a place to practice spells, one that is no classroom and nobody should know about it, and I can't use the Room of Requirement because I don't want anybody knowing what I am going to do, not even Ron and Hermione, so please don't tell anyone okay?"

"Yes, sir. Dobby will die before he betrays Harry Potter"

"Um…thanks again Dobby" Harry said because the loyalty that this little elf had in him was too great "so, do you know a place?"

"Well there is the old dueling room, which is no longer use. Dobby heard from the other elves that in hasn't been used in a long time and a few years ago it was transformed into something else, so me's don't know if it can be used again"

A dueling room in Hogwarts? Harry thought he never heard of such a thing maybe Hermione had while she read Hogwarts a History, maybe he did need to read that book after all, but for now that room was all he wanted and needed even if it was no longer used as a dueling room it probably still had the size he required.

"Take me there Dobby" and before he could say anything else Dobby grabbed him and he felt the uncomfortable feeling of dissapparition. When the sensation faded away, Harry was standing in the dark "Dobby?" he said.

"I is here Harry Potter sir" replied his little friend next to him.

"_Lumus" _Harry said and when his eyes became accustomed with the sudden light, he saw a big room that had a door at the end of it, but in the walls there was nothing it was all clear not even a paint was there, no windows either, after that he saw that there were some torches in the walls, maybe for lightning the room. "Where are we Dobby?"

"We are in the chamber before the dueling room, that is in the end of the third floor corridor" he said.

"What?" Harry asked, amazed that here was where probably Ron, Hermione and him had ended after they passed the devils snare, so probably after that room was the room where they found the flying keys, he started walking towards the door at the end, and he was surprised that it wasn't locked, maybe because the main door from the third floor was the one locked, when he passed the door he genially surprised, the room there was huge, was way bigger from what he remembered probably two or three times it's size; how could this be? "Um…Dobby, I was here before, back in my first year at Hogwarts and I know this room wasn't this big" certainly the room was big and there were lines draw in the floor, some formed a big rectangle where Harry supposed that duels were taken, then there were another ones than form another rectangle but this one was facing one of the walls, where there was a big square painted on the wall, but this one was different, it was like a portrait he realized once he looked closer, but there was nothing on it, it was just blank or rather black, there was nothing painted on it.

"That is a reflector sir" Dobby said.

"A what?" Harry replied.

"A reflector sir is like a mirror, but when yous direct a spell towards it, the spell backfires, this is common used when a wizard wants to train alone so his own spell would backfired and he didn't need a partner to practice Harry Potter sir"

"Oh, okay" Harry said, but he thought this was fabulous, now he could practice alone way better than he had expected to.

"The other elves told Dobby, that this room was changed a few years ago sir, this room probably was transformed to be smaller. That is why yous think this time is bigger".

Probably the room was divided, so there were several rooms where he found the flying keys, the big chess board, the dead troll, and the room where the riddle with the potions was and the final room where he faced Quirrell and Voldemort for the first time "maybe" was all he said. Certainly this place was the best to begin his training, where he fought Voldemort consciously for the first time, maybe it was destiny like in the prophecy.

He saw that there were more torches and with his wand he begun lightining the hole room, when it was all bright he saw that in the corners where two line united there were small stones "Dobby what are those?" he asked.

"Ah, those Harry Potter sir, are special stones that when are touched by yous wand they create a barrier, so the spells won't pass from the dueling into the spectators. Yous only have to touch one with yous wand and it will appear, and one more time to make it disappear. Yous can touch it from inside and outside sir"

Harry slowly made his way to one of the stones and touched it with his wand and instantly a kind of force field appeared uniting all of them, and taking a half sphere form on the top, where easily a really tall person could stand. Again he touched the stoned and the barrier disappeared. Harry was amazed, he never saw that, but with the corner of his eye he saw a door in the wall, between the two rectangles, he made his way there and when he opened the door he saw that this room wasn't nearly as big as the other one, but it had a lot of things in it; there were some weapons, real size dummies, like mannequins, and some things that he didn't knew what they were. When he saw, really saw the size of the room, he almost instantly recognized it as the room where he faced Voldemort in Quirrell, now it was a storage room. He really didn't knew what to think or what was he feeling, but he was interrupted from his thoughts by Dobby.

"Oh, Harry Potter sir, here there are things that are useful in dueling. Those dummies are can duel with you sir!"

"How can they do that Dobby?"

"You just have to carry them into the dueling room, and hit them with your wand in the head, and they will achieve all the techniques you know almost instantly. To start the duel you just have to say, START and to end the duel STOP and it will be deactivated".

"Amazing" Harry said, now he could really train he thought, he could see the speed of his spells and how strong they were if they came from the dummies.

After that they returned to the first chamber and Harry realized that he didn't knew how to return, he really was afraid if Fluffy was still there. "Um…Dobby, there isn't a giant three headed dog in the entrance chamber is it?"

Dobby just looked at him with a funny face "what is great Harry Potter sir talking about?"

"Um…eh, just…I need to return to my dorm lets go by the door Dobby, I will be using my invisibility cloak, so no one will see me if they are around, maybe it's the best that you make yourself invisible too, so no one will know that I am with you" Dobby nodded and he disappear, Harry put his cloak and started walking through the stairs that Dobby had pointed out before. If they were invisible Fluffy wouldn't see them if he was there, was what Harry thought; but when he reached the chamber were the giant dog would have been he saw nothing, he moved towards the door and checked his suspicions were correct when he realized that the door was locked, but with a quick _alohomora _he opened it, then he locked it again.

"Goodbye Dobby, thanks for your help, please tell no one about this goodnight I will return to my dorm now" he whispered once he checked they were alone in the corridor.

"Goodnight Harry Potter sir, Dobby won't say a thing" the elf said, and then Harry heard a pop, making it clear that he was gone. Slowly he made his way towards his dorm, and when he was in bed he drifted to sleep, really ready and anxious to start training the next day.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I got a new job, and with studies it make things hard, but now I have organized myself better and hopefully can publish the next chapter in four or five days maximum. In the chapter there is a big part from the original book, but again I think it was a bit necessary because I wanted to introduce the special prize for the winner of the Quidditch cup, next time Harry will really begin his training, sorry I didn't do it in this chapter as I said before but I was really busy these past days. Hope you enjoy it, although it is not as interesting as I thought I could have been, but now Harry has an isolated place to train which is what I wanted. R&R.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters or the fantasy world created in this story, I just used the fantastic mind of JKR to make my own version of it.

**Chapter 8: Beginning of Training and the Half Blood Prince Book.**

At five in the morning Harry woke up, and quickly changed into his exercise clothes, carefully, not wanting to wake any of his roommates he excited the Gryffindor tower and went downstairs till he was outside of the castle, he began stretching and he figured that a good routine would be running around the castle and then the lake before returning to his original position. The distance was larger than the one he had at his relative's home, but this would improve his physique and stamina.

After he was done, he started doing his abs exercises, then he headed to his dorm but he realized that while at Private Drive it was a good hour to start his day, here it wasn´t as much, because there were few students that might be awake already and although he didn´t mind his friends knowing that he was going to exercise in the mornings he didn't like the idea of the hole school whispering what he was up to by doing this, maybe they would relate this to the chosen one gossip everybody was talking about; he decided that from now on he would start 40 minutes early.

Fortunately when he reached the Gryffindor common room, there was no one there so he quickly went upstairs till his dorm, where he started training with the dumbbells. After he was done, he knew that he had to put the dumbbells in other place, because the others might hear him. With his wand he shrunk them and put a light feather charm in them and put them in his bag, he was happy, he didn´t have the time to practice but now he knew that his summer studies had clearly paid off, because with no problem he had shrunk his dumbbells and he had used successfully the light feather charm.

Then Harry went to shower himself and when he got out he saw that his roommates were already awoken including Ron who said "Hey, you woke up early"

"Well yeah, during the summer I used to woke up early"

"What for?" Ron asked.

"For no particular reason, it's just that the sun woke me up every day, because my window looked right into the dawn" Harry said, not because he wanted to lie to Ron, but because his other roommates could probably listen.

After they both were changed into their uniforms, they met Hermione before breakfast and together they headed to the Great Hall. There they were given their timetables, and Harry got the wonderful news that he still could pursue his ambition of being an Auror.

"Look," said Ron delightedly, gazing at his schedule, "we've got a free period now . . . and a free period after break . . . and after lunch . . . excellent."

They returned to the common room, which was empty apart from a half dozen seventh years, including Katie Bell, the only remaining member of the original Gryffindor Quidditch team that Harry had joined in his first year.

"I thought you'd get that, well done," she called over, pointing at the Captains badge on Harry's chest. "Tell me when you call trials!"

"Don't be stupid," said Harry, "you don't need to try out, I watched you play for five years. . . ."

"You mustn't start off like that," she said warningly. "For all you know, there's someone much better than me out there. Good teams have been ruined before now because Captains just kept playing the old faces, or letting in their friends..."

Ron looked a little uncomfortable and began playing with the Fanged Frisbee Hermione had taken from the fourth-year student. It zoomed around the common room, snarling and attempting to take bites of the tapestry. Crookshanks's yellow eyes followed it and he hissed when it came too close.

After a while Harry said, "Ron, I have to go I have to check something with,…um…Madam Pomfrey" Harry said

"With Madam Pomfrey?"

"Well, yeah…I…um fell a bit sick"

"You are not having those nightmares are you? "Ron replied.

"No, no it's just that I fell a bit sick, you know, probably something in the food"

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No that's ok, I just have to go there, and I'll meet you after that" Harry said, and not wanting to continue his conversation with Ron, he just took off.

While he was walking to the Dueling room, Harry thought that he really needed to spend less time with Ron, because what he wanted was just to have fun, sure that was no sin, hell Harry himself wanted to have fun too, but he understood that there were more important things in life than just having fun. He had a responsibility now, he had to defeat Voldemort, he didn't know why he was the only one that could do it, he always thought that Dumbledore would be the one to do it, especially after the duel he witnessed at the Department of Mysteries, but for some reason Dumbledore wouldn't do it according to the prophecy or couldn't, this thought terrified Harry to no end, Dumbledore was really powerful and for Harry to achieve his level would take years, decades even, that he was sure he didn't have. Secondly, it wasn't that he didn't want to tell his best friends what was up with him, but he didn't know how to tell them about the prophecy and he wasn't so sure about it despite what Dumbledore had advised him in the summer, Harry thought that knowledge could be dangerous and he didn't want to put them in more danger, but he was also sure that they weren't going to stop being friends with him because of that, instead they would help him, especially Hermione-maybe Ron would continue with life as it nothing happens until some problem would torment them- , besides he first wanted to make sure he knew everything that he had learned over the summer, and study the book Tonks gave him before talking to Hermione and Ron about the prophecy, that would be a good approach he thought, if Tonks would have wanted Ron and Hermione knowing about the book too he would have told him so, she was very clear when she said that _no one _should read it besides Harry.

When he entered the dueling room, Harry started practicing the charms he had learned over the summer with the stuff he had at his bag, he was happy when he achieved all the spells, although he struggled with a couple of them, he was glad that in the short time of the break he was able to do them all. Then he headed to meet with Ron, but he left his dumbbells there, and he decided that he was going to do his abs, pushups and rest of exercises after running there, and he would take a bath afterwards in the perfects bathroom, since he could enter there now-being captain of the Quidditch team did have his benefits.

Then he went to meet with Hermione and Ron, when he approach he heard them speaking.

"We got so much homework for Runes," she said anxiously. "A fifteen-inch essay, two translations, and I've got to read these by Wednesday!"

"Shame," yawned Ron.

"You wait," she said resentfully. "I bet Snape gives us loads."

"Hi, there" Harry said.

"Harry! How are you? Are you feeling ok?" Hermione anxiously said, while she bit her lower lip.

"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey said that probably it was just a bug, that it could bother me in the next days, but it was nothing serious, unfortunately she didn't knew what exactly was so she couldn't make the remedy potion, but said I could just go back if I felt bad again"

"Ok, then, but tell us if anything bothers you ok?" Hermione said.

Harry just nodded grateful that she care enough for him but ashamed because it was a lie.

"Yeah mate, you know you can count on us" Ron interjected.

After DADA class in which Harry got himself a detention, the three of them were walking and talking.

"You really shouldn't have said it," said Hermione, frowning at Ron. "What made you?"

"He tried to jinx me, in case you didn't notice!" fumed Harry. "I had enough of that during those Occlumency lessons! Why doesn't he use another guinea pig for a change? What's Dumbledore playing at, anyway, letting him teach Defense? Did you hear him talking about the Dark Arts? He loves them! All that unfixed, indestructible stuff –"

"Well," said Hermione, "I thought he sounded a bit like you."

"Like me?"

"Yes, when you were telling us what it's like to face Voldemort. You said it wasn't just memorizing a bunch of spells, you said it was just you and your brains and your guts - well, wasn't that what Snape was saying? That it really comes down to being brave and quick-thinking?"

Harry was so disarmed that she had thought his words as well worth memorizing as The Standard Book of Spells that he did not argue.

"Harry! Hey, Harry!"

Harry looked around; Jack Sloper, one of the Beaters on last year's Gryffindor Quidditch team, was hurrying toward him holding a roll of parchment.

"For you," panted Sloper. "Listen, I heard you're the new Captain. When're you holding trials?"

"I'm not sure yet," said Harry, thinking privately that Sloper would be very lucky to get back on the team. "I'll let you know."

"Oh, right. I was hoping it'd be this weekend -"

But Harry was not listening; he had just recognized the thin, slanting writing on the parchment. Leaving Sloper in mid-sentence, he hurried away with Ron and Hermione, unrolling the parchment as he went.

_Dear Harry,_

_I would like to start our private lessons this Saturday. Kindly come along to my office at 8 P.M. I hope you are enjoying your first day back at school._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_P.S. I enjoy Acid Pops._

"Private lessons? With Dumbledore? You didn't told us that!" said Ron accunsinly.

Harry cursed himself, he shouldn't have opened the note there, but he was son anxious to know what Dumbledore had to say about his lessons that he couldn't wait.

"Yeah, sorry I forgot. Since Snape doesn't want to teach me Occlumency, Dumbledore is going to do it from now on" Harry said dismissively.

"Dumbledore himself, that is great Harry" Hermione said, and Harry could tell that although she didn't need them she wanted to be in the lessons too.

"Yeah, I hope I will learn more than last year" he replied.

"He enjoys acid pops?" Ron interjected.

"It's the password to get past the gargoyle outside his study," said Harry in a low voice. "Ha! Snape's not going to be pleased. . . . I won't be able to do his detention!"

They had break now, so Harry thought that he should take advantage of it too, he didn't had time to waste.

"I have to talk to Dumbledore, see you later guys" he said, and with that he took off and went to the Dueling Room, where he practiced this time Transfigurations. For some reason this subject was more difficult for Harry than Charms, but he really did put more effort and at the end he was able to do what it was required of him in his OWL exam, he was certain that now he would achieve with no problem an Outstanding. When he noticed that time had passed really quickly, he headed to the Gryffindor common room, when he was about to reach the Fat Lady portrait he stumbled Hermione.

"Harry, where have you been? We waited for you the whole break, but you never came. I am returning from Arithmancy you know, that is 4 hours late in total!" she said.

"Erm…yeah, well I couldn´t find Dumbledore in his office so, I stayed and waited for him, but he never came. Then I went to have a walk around the lake, you know I thought that he might be there" Harry replied in a not so much convincing tone.

"The lake? Why would Dumbledore be in the lake?"

"Um, you know, he can speak with mermaids so, I figured he could be there…" he answered, but he noticed that Hermione was eying him suspiciously, so he used his Occlumency again and masked his face, after a while she desisted and continue talking about her Arithmancy homework.

When they entered the Gryffindor common room the walked till they were with Ron, who immediately complained.

"Where the bloody hell were you Harry! This Defense homework is impossible, Snape really hates us"

"I was looking for Dumbledore, but I didn´t find him so I waited, he never came"

After that they started doing the homework together, and Hermione and Ron were surprised that Harry was actually doing it very quickly, not as quickly as Hermione but he had no problem doing it, whereas Ron was constantly asking for their help, which make confirmed Harry that if he wanted to improve he would have to spend less time with his best mate, it didn´t mean that he would stop being his friend though.

They had only just finished when the bell rang for the afternoon's double Potions and they beat the familiar path down to the dungeon classroom that had, for so long, been Snape's.

After the first Slughorn´s introduction and the potions recognition by Hermione which earned her a compliment by the potions professor, Harry felt a funny thing in his stomach when she smiled at him while saying:

"Did you really tell him I'm the best in the year? Oh, Harry!"

´That is a great smile´ Harry thought ´one you don´t have the opportunity to see as much´.

"Well, what's so impressive about that?" whispered Ron, who for some reason looked annoyed. "You are the best in the year - I'd've told him so if he'd asked me!"

Hermione smiled but made a "shhing" gesture, so that they could hear what Slughorn was saying. Ron looked slightly disgruntled.

Slughorn continued with the class explaining some things about the love and the Felix Felicis potion, which was used as a prize for the one that could prepare the best Draught of Living Death. Harry was really excited because he could win the potion and maybe use it one of his days of fighting against Voldemort, maybe the final duel itself; now he was sure that he got a chance in this contest, in the past it would have been pointless Hermione surely would have won the Felix Felicis ,but now that he was certain of what he was doing he knew he was fairly good at potions after the practicing the hole summer he at least got a chance.

To his annoyance he saw that the previous owner had scribbled all over the pages, so that the margins were as black as the printed portions. Bending low to decipher the ingredients (even here, the previous owner had made annotations and crossed things out) Harry hurried off toward the store cupboard to find what he needed. As he dashed back to his cauldron, he saw Malfoy cutting up Valerian roots as fast as he could.

Everyone kept glancing around at what the rest of the class was doing; this was both an advantage and a disadvantage of Potions, that it was hard to keep your work private. Within ten minutes, the whole place was full of bluish steam. Hermione, of course, seemed to have progressed furthest. Her potion already resembled the "smooth, black currant-colored liquid" mentioned as the ideal halfway stage.

Having finished chopping his roots, Harry bent low over his book again. It was really very irritating, having to try and decipher the directions under all the stupid scribbles of the previous owner, who for some reason had taken issue with the order to cut up the sopophorous bean and had written in the alternative instruction:

_Crush with flat side of silver dagger,_

_releases juice better than cutting._

"Sir, I think you knew my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy?" Harry looked up; Slughorn was just passing the Slytherin table.

"Yes," said Slughorn, without looking at Malfoy, "I was sorry to hear he had died, although of course it wasn't unexpected, dragon pox at his age…"

And he walked away. Harry bent back over his cauldron, smirking. He could tell that Malfoy had expected to be treated like Harry or Zabini; perhaps even hoped for some preferential treatment of the type he had learned to expect from Snape. It looked as though Malfoy would have to rely on nothing but talent to win the bottle of Felix Felicis.

The sopophorous bean was proving very difficult to cut up. Harry turned to Hermione.

"Can I borrow your silver knife?"

She nodded impatiently, not taking her eyes off her potion, which was still deep purple, though according to the book ought to be turning a light shade of lilac by now.

Harry crushed his bean with the flat side of the dagger. To his astonishment, it immediately exuded so much juice he was amazed the shriveled bean could have held it all.

Hastily scooping it all into the cauldron he saw, to his surprise, that the potion immediately turned exactly the shade of lilac described by the textbook.

His annoyance with the previous owner vanishing on the spot, Harry now squinted at the next line of instructions. According the book, he had to stir counterclockwise until the potion turned clear as water. According to the addition the previous owner made, however, he ought to add a clockwise stir after every seventh counterclockwise stir. Could the old owner be right twice?

Harry stirred counterclockwise, held his breath, and stirred once clockwise. The effect was immediate. The potion turned pale pink.

"How are you doing that?" demanded Hermione, who was redfaced and whose hair was growing bushier and bushier in the fumes from her cauldron; her potion was still resolutely purple.

"Add a clockwise stir -"

"No, no, the book says counterclockwise!" she snapped.

Harry shrugged and continued what he was doing. Seven stirs counterdockwise, one clockwise, pause . . . seven stirs counterclockwise, one stir clockwise . . .

Across the table, Ron was cursing fluently under his breath; his potion looked like liquid licorice. Harry glanced around. As far as he could see, no one else's potion had turned as pale as his. He felt elated, something that had certainly never happened before in this dungeon.

"And time's . . . up!" called Slughorn. "Stop stirring, please!"

Slughorn moved slowly among the tables, peering into cauldrons. He made no comment, but occasionally gave the potions a stir or a sniff. At last he reached the table where Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ernie were sitting. He smiled ruefully at the tarlike substance in Ron's cauldron. He passed over Ernie's navy concoction. Hermione's potion he gave an approving nod. Then he saw Harry's, and a look of incredulous delight spread over his face.

"The clear winner!" he cried to the dungeon. "Excellent, excellent, Harry! Good lord, it's clear you've inherited your mother's talent. She was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are - one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!"

Harry slipped the tiny bottle of golden liquid into his inner pocket, feeling an odd combination of delight at the furious looks on the Slytherins' faces and guilt at the disappointed expression on Hermione's. Ron looked simply dumbfounded.

"How did you do that?" he whispered to Harry as they left the dungeon.

"Got lucky, I suppose," said Harry, because Malfoy was within earshot.

Once they were securely ensconced at the Gryffindor table for dinner, however, he felt safe enough to tell them. Hermione's face became stonier with every word he uttered.

"I s'pose you think I cheated?" he finished, aggravated by her expression.

"Well, it wasn't exactly your own work, was it?" she said stiffly.

"He only followed different instructions to ours," said Ron, "Could've been a catastrophe, couldn't it? But he took a risk and it paid off." He heaved a sigh. "Slughorn could've handed me that book, but no, I get the one no one's ever written on. Puked on, by the look of page fifty-two, but-"

"Hang on," said a voice close by Harry's left ear and he caught a sudden waft of that flowery smell he had picked up in Slughorn's dungeon. He looked around and saw that Ginny had joined them. "Did I hear right? You've been taking orders from something someone wrote in a book, Harry?"

She looked alarmed and angry. Harry knew what was on her mind at once.

"It's nothing," he said reassuringly, lowering his voice. "It's not like, you know, Riddle's diary. It's just an old textbook someone's scribbled on."

"But you're doing what it says?" Now Harry was a little annoyed, surely Ginny knew that he understood better than anyone what it was like to "talk" to Riddle´s diary, furthermore he perfectly knew the differences between the two of them.

"I just tried a few of the tips written in the margins, honestly, Ginny, there's nothing funny -"

"Ginny's got a point," said Hermione, perking up at once. "We ought to check that there's nothing odd about it. I mean, all these funny instructions, who knows?"

"Hey!" said Harry indignantly, as she pulled his copy of Advanced Potion-Making out of his bag and raised her wand. "Specialis Revelio!" she said, rapping it smartly on the front cover. Nothing whatsoever happened. The book simply lay there, looking old and dirty and dog-eared.

"Finished?" said Harry irritably. "Or d'you want to wait and see if it does a few backflips?"

"It seems all right," said Hermione, still staring at the book suspiciously. "I mean, it really does seem to be ... just a textbook."

"Good. Then I'll have it back," said Harry, snatching it off the table, but it slipped from his hand and landed open on the floor. Nobody else was looking. Harry bent low to retrieve the book, and as he did so, he saw something scribbled along the bottom of the back cover in the same small, cramped handwriting as the instructions that had won him his bottle of Felix Felicis, now safely hidden inside a pair of socks in his trunk upstairs.

This book is the property of the Half Blood Prince.

For or the rest of the week's Potions lessons Harry continued to follow the Half-Blood Prince's instructions wherever they deviated from Libatius Borage's, with the result that by their fourth lesson Slughorn was raving about Harrys abilities, saying that he had rarely taught anyone so talented.

Harry put the best effort since he heard that his mother was that good at Potions, as he had promised himself in the summer he would live to the name of both of them James and Lily Potter. Neither Ron nor Hermione was delighted by this. Although Harry had offered to share his book with both of them, Ron had more difficulty deciphering the handwriting than Harry did, and could not keep asking Harry to read aloud or it might look suspicious. Hermione, meanwhile, was resolutely plowing on with what she called the "official" instructions, but becoming increasingly bad-tempered as they yielded poorer results than the Prince's.

Harry wondered vaguely who the Half-Blood Prince had been. Although the amount of homework given and his secret training had prevented him from trying to decipher who the Half-Blood Prince was; he had really try hard to read the whole of his copy of Advanced Potion-Making especially now that he had a place that was even more quiet than the library but he failed as he had to practice all the things he had learned over the summer until he was certain he domain all of them, furthermore he started trying to do the spells wordlessly since he thought that Snape and Hermione were right, if the opponent didn´t knew what you were throwing at them it would be much more difficult for them to react; but he had skimmed through it sufficiently to see that there was barely a page on which the Prince had not made additional notes, not all of them concerned with potion-making. Here and there were directions for what looked like spells that the Prince had made up himself.

"Or herself," said Hermione irritably, overhearing Harry pointing some of these out to Ron in the common room on Saturday evening. "It might have been a girl. I think the handwriting looks more like a girl's than a boy's."

"The Half-Blood Prince, he was called," Harry said. "How many girls have been Princes?"

Hermione seemed to have no answer to this. She merely scowled and twitched her essay on The Principles of Rematerialization away from Ron, who was trying to read it upside down. Harry didn´t knew exactly why Hermione was so angry, he thought it could be the fact that he was doing better than her and for once she didn´t have all the attention of the professors, since he was really good at all the subjects now they started to compliment him and his work (all but Snape) and Hermione wasn´t the only one answering the questions they made now; once when she was angry she had pointed out that he was doing as good as that because the Half-Blood Prince book had also some tips to be better in every subject, which had made Harry really angry, it had taken all his willpower and the reminder that early in the summer he had vowed to protect and help Hermione for not snapping at her and yelling what he thought about her jealousy. Harry really didn´t understand what the problem was, for all he knew if Hermione lend him some of her notes, as she had done in the past, he could probably do some homework or improve in classes, but now that he had this help from a book she really was moody.

Harry looked at his watch and hurriedly put the old copy of Advanced Potion-Making back into his bag.

"It's five to eight, I'd better go, I'll be late for Dumbledore."

"Oh, yeah, well good luck mate" Ron said.

"Yeah, good luck or maybe you don´t need it maybe it is in the book too" Hermione mumbled.

Harry just took a really deep breath, before disappearing through the portrait hole and into the direction of Dumbledore´s office.

In Dumbledore´s office he saw the memory of Bob Ogden in the pensive, just before he had arrested Marvolo and Morfin Gaunt. After they excited the pensive they discussed the aftermath of the memory they just saw where Harry learned that Merope was Voldemort´s mother, Marvolo his grandfather, Morfin his uncle and Tom Riddle his father.

"I think that will do for tonight, Harry," said Dumbledore after a moment or two.

"Yes, sir," said Harry.

He got to his feet, but did not leave.

"Something wrong Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well sort of, sir... is it important to know all this about Voldemort's past?"

"Very important, I think," said Dumbledore.

"And it... it's got something to do with the prophecy?"

"It has everything to do with the prophecy."

"Right," said Harry, a little confused, but reassured all the same.

"Is something bothering you?" Dumbledore asked again.

"Well,… you see sir, I don´t mean anything by it, but I guess I was hoping you would teach me spells or counter curses or maybe jinxes that could be useful in a duel" Harry answered with honesty.

Dumbledore just smiled and said "Harry as you clearly know, in duels it is not important the amount or the complexity of the spells you perform, but how you use the ones you know"

Harry quickly remembered that at the beginning of the week Hermione had told him something very similar, and that he had taught her that but still…

"I know that sir, but I have to face Voldemort, I saw the duel he had with you and I am not nearly as good as him or you for that matter, how I am supposed to defeat him without no further knowledge?"

"Harry, we are gaining knowledge, you see knowledge can win battles, duels, by knowing the enemy we know how we can defeat him. Do not worry you are in a good path. Besides I know for sure that you have achieved what you wanted during the summer; as the muggles say you can now give Miss Granger a run for her money" The old wizard replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

"How…" Harry begun to say, but was cut off by Dumbledore.

"Harry, since you are here strange things have happened in the castle and me as headmaster should have known them way before everybody else and before anything could happened, it is my duty to ensure the safety of everyone here, and I sadly admit that I have not done a good job at it until so far. In you first year I did not saw that it was Professor Quirrell who wanted the stone, even further that he had the remains of Lord Voldemort in the back of his head; second year I failed at discovering what was threatening the students; in third year Siruis-in his dog form- entered into the castle and I failed to notice; in your fourth year I was fooled by Barty Crouch junior. Since then and with the ultimate return of Lord Voldemort I improved the way I can watch the things happening in the castle and took more safety measures. So naturally I know that you have been training in the Dueling Room, and I know for sure that you have now a great amount of knowledge".

Harry didn´t knew what to say.

But how you know, how good I am sir?" he finally asked.

"Oh, well let´s just say that I have a method to record things happening in certain areas of the castle" the old headmaster replied with a small smile.

Harry for a moment wanted to ask something else but instead just gave his professor a smile of his own

"That and the fact that all your teachers have told me that you are incredibly good and studious this term" Dumbledore added.

Harry smiled again and He turned away again, and was almost at the door when he saw it. Sitting on one of the little spindle-legged tables that supported so many frail-looking silver instruments, was an ugly gold ring set with a large, cracked, black stone.

"Sir," said Harry, staring at it. "That ring—"

"Yes?" said Dumbledore.

"You were wearing it when we visited Professor Slughorn that night."

"So I was," Dumbledore agreed.

"But isn't it... sir, isn't it the same ring Marvolo Gaunt showed Ogden?"

Dumbledore bowed his head. "The very same."

"But how come — ? Have you always had it?"

"No, I acquired it very recently," said Dumbledore. "A few days before I came to fetch you from your aunt and uncle's, in fact."

"That would be around the time you injured your hand, then, sir?"

"Around that time, yes, Harry."

Harry hesitated. Dumbledore was smiling.

"Sir, how exactly — ?"

"Too late, Harry! You shall hear the story another time. Good night."

"Good night, sir."

When Harry excited the office, he continued to be a bit annoyed by the fact that he was not going to be trained in dueling, but immediately realized that he still had the auror book from Tonks, and that would be the source where he would learned everything he needed in dueling.

Meanwhile inside the headmaster´s office, Dumbledore was a bit troubled, he really didn´t liked the idea of Harry being a bit desperate about gaining more power, sure he knew that he would never turned a power seeker like most evil wizards but he was preoccupied because if this would continue it could mean Harry wouldn´t be enjoying his life, and he would be only focusing on fighting Voldemort, but he wouldn´t live properly. He renewed the vow he had made early in the summer, when he dropped Harry at the Burrow, he would not allow Harry to stop living and break off from life and his friends.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I really tried to write it the soon as possible, but I had a few projects at school that make me delay this; hopefully I will be able to publish the next chapter sooner. In this chapter there are some lines from the book that I thought that can help understand better the events that will develop in the future. See you soon, and as always give me your opinions.**


End file.
